Miraculous: Tales of Dark Chaos: Truth and TrustDark Rider
by White Fire the Dragon
Summary: *Theme Music Plays* My name is Shadow. I was flung through time and space, and now I'm trapped in this world. Now, I have to find my way back with the aid of a heroine named Ladybug. *Theme Continues and Ends* Shadow continues his search for the fifth chaos emerald, but his efforts become obstructed by a new supervillain, as well as his trust issues with Ladybug.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 2: Truth and Trust/Dark Rider

It was a bright and shiny Sunday morning, and Marinette had decided to spend it bringing her latest idea to life. She thought that she had all of the materials necessary _for_ the cape, and so, all that she had left to do was to turn them into it. Tikki was helping her, bringing her spools, needles, thimbles, or bandages if she needed them, which—of course—she did, occasionally.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shadow was in the middle of another nightmare. Fortunately, this was the one that he had grown the most used to. It was the one where he found himself in the middle of a post-apocalyptic version of _his_ world. Whenever he would encounter a survivor, they would back away, hide, or just run away in fear. They would also shout things like "Monster!" or "Please don't kill me!".

All of his teammates and allies were gone, the sky was red, most of the city was destroyed, and at the middle of the city was the Black Comet, rooted to the ground as if it were some kind of evil plant's seed, waiting to sprout. When he first started having this dream on a regular basis, he found it tormenting, and would occasionally wake up in a cold sweat, finding that he barely got any sleep that night, but as time went on, the nightmares became less frequent, and even when he _would_ have them, he found that he was used to it, and just accepted it as his own subconscious fears. Of course, he would **still** feel somewhat tired upon awakening. He knew that he was still a threat to everyone, but that was why he had Rouge and Omega; to keep him in line. He was grateful for having them as his teammates. As he dreamed, he started to hear a voice. It was loud, and somewhat annoying.

"Hey, young man." Came the voice again, this time louder. "Hey!"

Shadow was snapped out of his slumber and found himself looking up at a large man in a blue shirt, matching hat, and a whistle around his neck. Shadow noticed that the blue shirt and hat were actually a policeman's uniform.

" _(groan)_ Can I help you, officer?" Shadow asked, hoping that the policeman would explain his reasoning for disturbing his sleep quickly, not that he was getting much sleep to begin with.

"Young man, you realize that this is a public park, not a hotel or some kind of camping ground, right?" The officer informed him with a serious look.

Shadow slowly sat up and looked around. It was early in the morning and he was still in the park that he remembered falling asleep in the night before.

"Oh, of course. My apologies, sir."

"Just watch where you choose to fall asleep. Now, look here, son. I'm going to let you off with a warning this time, but if I catch you sleeping here again, I'm gonna have to call your parents." The policeman turned to leave.

"That would be understandable, [if I had any]." Shadow uttered that last bit under his breath, in English, as he grabbed his backpack and the box that held his loaf of bread and stood up.

"Huh? What was th-?" As the policeman turned to face Shadow once again, he found that he was gone, leaving himself dumbfounded.

 _ **VOIP**_

Shadow had used chaos control before the policeman turned around and was currently outside of the park and on the other side of the street. Once he was out of _that_ predicament, he brought out his chaos emerald and used his chaos sensing ability to search for the other emeralds. He sensed one that appeared to be moving, which meant that someone had found it, and it was moving to an area near his location.

" _Grrrr_ , really? Again with this?" He said, annoyed. " _(sigh)_ Well, may as well get to it. I can't waste any time."

Shadow took off, running to where he sensed it.

* * *

Back with Marinette, she was wearing an empty backpack and walking down the stairs that lead up to her room. She was working on her design, but then discovered that she had run out of material.

"Morning, Marinette. Did you sleep well?" Asked Sabine when her daughter entered the living room.

Sabine was cooking breakfast in the kitchen area while Tom was watching the News. He was currently awaiting his _own_ breakfast.

"Yeah, Mom. I slept great." Marinette replied. "Morning, Dad."

"Good morning, Marinette." Replied Tom.

"Well, what do feel like for breakfast?" Asked Sabine.

"Actually, Mom, I need to go out right now and get some material, but I'll be right back." Marinette ended her discussion by giving both of her parents kisses on the cheek and went straight to the door. "Love you, bye."

With that, Marinette closed the door behind her and made her way down the stairs, through the bakery, and out the front door. She ran straight for her destination. It was a quick trip to get her materials and get home, but she wasn't accounting for any unexpected surprises…

* * *

... and neither was Shadow.

" _Wait, I know this w-. Wait. Oh, I swear if it leads me back to that_ _ **blasted**_ _bakery, I'm gonna-!_ " Shadow instantly stopped in his tracks and focused on regaining his senses. " _Hurk_! Ugh! _(pant)_ I—I need to stay _(pant)_ calm, or else I-"

"Hey!"

"Huh?!"

Before Shadow could register what was going on, something had crashed into him, or rather, some _one_. The one who had collided with him was none other than Marinette. After a moment, Marinette finally opens her eyes, which widened at the first thing she saw; a pair of **red** eyes right in front of her. After another moment of no one saying anything, and Marinette just staring into Shadow's eyes while Shadow looked around awkwardly waiting for her to get up, Shadow finally said something.

"Um, would you mind getting up, please?"

"Huh? AH!" Marinette's response was followed by her immediately throwing herself backwards and landing on her rear. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know and… W-well, I _knew_ , but I-!"

" _(sigh)_ It's fine. No harm done, I suppose." Said Shadow, picking himself up followed by Marinette.

"Alright, let me start over. _(deep breath)_ Hello, Shadow. It's nice to see you again." Marinette held out her hand to shake his.

"Right. Well, 'hello' to you too, I guess." Shadow just ignored her handshake completely. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Oh, right." Marinette withdrew her hand once she realized that Shadow didn't want to shake hands. "See, I was just on my way to buy some material, but then you just came out of nowhere so, I… well, I guess we both saw what happened."

"Right, sorry. I was just… doing something. Something I **really** should get back to, so… bye."

Shadow was about to speed off when Marinette spoke up again.

"So much for 'not seeing each other again', huh?"

" _(sigh)_ I'm sure this will be the last time. Goodbye."

Again, Shadow was ready to leave.

"So, where _are_ you going?"

Shadow was stopped once again by her question.

"That's classified. **Good** -"

"Well, I was just asking because-"

"No, you cannot help me."

"Uh… and why not?"

"My mission doesn't concern you. That's why."

"Is it dangerous?"

"That is also classified. Look, I don't have time to waste with pointless questions. I have a job to do, so if you would be so kind as to let me get back to it?"

Marinette didn't care for his sudden rudeness or hastiness to leave, one bit. She wore a serious expression on her face as she began to approach the dark haired teen. She looked him straight in the eye as she spoke.

"If you **don't** get back to it, would it be a problem for Paris?"

Shadow saw what she was doing. She was trying to assert a sense of dominance against him, but he held his ground and met her serious stare with his own.

"That is _**also**_ **classified**. Don't trouble yourself with matters that do **not** concern _**you**_."

"When the matter at hand _**could**_ be trouble for the city I've sworn to **protect** , then it **does** concern **me**."

" _ **These**_ matters are _**my**_ concern and _**my**_ concern **alone**. So **drop** it."

" **No** , I will **not** 'drop it'! Not until you tell me whether or not this matter is a **danger** to the city!"

For minutes they continued to stare each other down, both waiting for the other to relent, but neither side did, and Shadow saw this.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this." Shadow raised his hand between himself and Marinette, using his index finger to press his middle finger into his thumb. "Chaos Control."

 _ **SNAP**_

 _ **VOIP**_

" _Gah_!" With a snap of his fingers, Shadow disappeared in a flash of green light, that momentarily blinded Marinette.

After regaining her eyesight, Marinette, saw that Shadow was gone.

"Oh, come on! Seriously…?! _(sigh_ ) How rude."

Marinette knew that if there was a danger to Paris, then it certainly concerned Ladybug and Chat Noir. She made a mental note to try and look more into this later. Of course, that meant looking for the boy who just teleported away and interrogating him. That alone was reason enough to start searching for him. Not that there was any other reason to search for him, right? Of course, that would all have to wait until she was finished with her current task.

She was about to continue on her way when she caught sight of something on the ground. It was an open box from her family's bakery with a half-eaten loaf of bread lying next to it. She recognized it as the very same loaf of bread that she had bought for Shadow the day before. Though she was still a little peeved at him for being so rude to her, she decided that she couldn't just leave this here. And since it has been on the ground, she figured he wouldn't want it back. So, she picked it up and walked away to find a proper garbage receptacle to dispose of it into. She also made a second mental note that, since it was mostly her fault that he had dropped it, the next time she saw him, to buy him a new loaf to replace the one that he had dropped.

* * *

Shadow had teleported to the top of the building he and Marinette were in front of and then backed away, wanting to put some distance between himself and the ledge, in case she decided to look for him after he had teleported. He remembered how smart she was. He discovered this when he saw how she used a fishing hook to remove Baker's apron the previous day. Once he was sure that he was far away enough, he brought out his chaos emerald and once again used chaos control to find the emerald, only to find out that it had moved again.

"Ugh, I can't waste time on this again…"

Shadow then decided to pursue a different emerald; however, that was when he finally noticed something. "Wait a minute."

Shadow looked at his arms and saw that his only source of food for… however long he was to stay in this world, was gone. He face-palmed and groaned a little at his misfortune. He knew that he couldn't just ask for another one like some sort of beggar. He decided that he had no choice but to just continue on without it.

Using his chaos emerald, Shadow had sensed the other two emeralds. They were both on farther sides of the city in opposite directions. He picked one and used chaos control to teleport himself close enough to the emerald.

 _ **VOIP**_

* * *

Meanwhile, in a tower, far from Shadow's location, a man was going over his options. In light of recent events, he felt that he was going to need a new strategy if he was ever going to retrieve Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses; especially now that this dark **newcomer** came into the picture.

" _Hmmm_ , there must be **some** way to counter the mysterious power that boy used against me, but what?"

While the man was focused on this for the time being, the little insect-like kwami named Nooroo decided to spend some time alone in the shadows of the butterfly filled tower, away from his current master. However, unlike the rest of the times when he hides, **this** time he found something peculiar.

" _(gasp)_ It can't be!" He said, gazing upon the beautiful, glowing, purple gemstone before him. "This must be one of those powerful gems like the ones that boy and Baker were using."

" _Oh, no! I can't let Master see this! I'll have to keep it out of his sight. If this really_ is _one of those gems, then there's no telling what kind of damage master could cause with it, to himself_ or _all of Paris._ "

Nooroo then proceeded to pick up the gem and carry it out of sight, behind his master's back. It would have worked if not for the fact that Nooroo can't phase objects through solid matter, meaning that he'd have to carry the large, glowing, and somewhat heavy gem out of the room the long way. There was also the matter of his master being in the same room, so he had to be as quiet as possible.

" _How did this thing even end up in here?_ "

"Nooroo!" Nooroo was about half way to the door when he heard his master calling him.

Acting fast, Nooroo stashed the gem beside the door and hoped his master wouldn't turn around, let alone, notice it.

"Y-yes, Master?" Nooroo responded nervously.

"I need something to distract me from my troubles. Perhaps wreaking havoc on Paris will bring a smile to my face? Nooroo, Dark Wings, RISE!"

As his master extended his arms out, almost immediately, Nooroo was absorbed into his miraculous. Butterflies then covered him from head to toe. In an instant, he was transformed into the evil Hawkmoth.

"Now, let's see who would make a suitable villain, today."

Hawkmoth looked out of his butterfly shaped, stained glass window, keeping a lookout for anyone who was feeling miserable and vengeful.

* * *

A few hours had passed and Marinette was finally on her way home with Alya, who was assisting her with the materials that she had bought. Marinette had met up with Alya on her way to the store, and the two of them ended up staying there for longer than expected.

"Thanks again for helping me, Alya." Said Marinette.

"Anytime, though I think you'll be all set for a while." Alya responded.

"A-heh, I guess I **did** go a little over board."

"'A little'?" Tikki said, playfully skeptical.

"Okay, I guess a bit _**more**_ than 'a little'. Heh, it's a good thing Mom didn't get upset with me."

"Good thing you had Tikki to remind you to call your mom earlier." Said Alya.

"Yeah, but like you said, now I have more than eno-o-Ooooh!"

 _ **CRASH**_

What with the large amount of supplies in her hands, as well as her full backpack, it was easy for Marinette to miss a tiny pebble on the sidewalk. If falling flat on her back wasn't enough, the fabric and supplies that she was carrying ended up on Alya's head. Once Marinette had recovered from the experience and finally noticed her best friend's condition, she immediately arose and began cleaning up her mess, starting with Alya's head.

" _Oh_ , sorry, Alya!"

"It's fine, girl. Though I'm afraid this outfit kinda makes me look a little ' _trashy_ '."

As Alya started laughing at her own joke, Marinette soon joined in while continuing to remove the supplies with Tikki's assistance.

"Yeah, you're right."

Once her mess was cleaned up and the two of them were back to walking, Alya took this opportunity to talk about something that was on her mind.

"So, about this new hero guy."

"'New hero guy'?" Marinette stared at Alya curiously.

" _Oh_ , you know. The new guy who was helping you two out yesterday."

Marinette finally understood who it was that Alya was referring to.

"O-oh! W-what about him?"

"What do you know about him?"

Marinette wanted to tell her what she knew about him, but she also didn't want to break her promise to Shadow about keeping their conversation private. She looked at Tikki, hoping she had an answer, but she just gave her a look and a wave of her arm, telling her that she had to decide for herself. So, she decided to tell Alya a little about what she knew about him, while in the process, leaving out their talk.

"Well, you know that guy who I said saved my life the other day, but then resisted that akuma that came after him?"

"You mean 'tall, dark, and jerky'?" Alya almost instantly caught on and stared at Marinette in surprise upon realizing what she was saying. "Wait! You're not saying that it's _him_ , are you?!"

"Mm-hmm." Marinette nodded.

"Seriously?! Well, I guess that explains why he was so rude when I interviewed him."

"You interviewed him?"

"Yeah, but he was totally rude about it. He gave such short answers to my questions, and then just up and left before I could continue. Can you believe that?"

"Yeah, he is pretty rude sometimes."

"Hm?" Alya gave her another curious look, wondering about her statement.

"Uh, because from what you told me and what I already know. Heh-heh." After her little fib, Marinette composed herself. "But still, he can't be all bad. He was probably just having a bad day. I wish I knew more about him."

Alya noticed her best friend's clutch on her clothing supplies tighten.

"Hey, are you alright, Marinette?"

"Huh?" Marinette snapped back to reality and started talking fast. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Really! Never better!"

Alya wanted to know more but decided to leave it at that, until…

"Actually… Alya? Can I… talk to you about something?"

But just as Alya was about to agree, Marinette took notice of something heading straight for them.

"Look out!" Marinette managed to duck and pull Alya with her in time to avoid getting hit.

 _ **CLANG-SMASH**_

 _ **CL-CLINK-CL-CLINK-CL-CLINK**_

As everyone screamed and ran away from the commotion, Marinette and Alya looked up to see someone who looked like he was part of some kind of evil biker gang with two chains wrapped around his body, sitting on top of a menacing looking motorcycle.

"Now **everyone** will know who rules! **Me**!" He said.

"Who **is** that?!" Alya loudly asked in surprise.

"Whoever he is, he sure is causing a lot of trouble." Said Tikki, emerging from Marinette's hand bag. "Marinette!"

"I know." Marinette responded, picking herself off of the ground and Alya doing the same. "Alya, you should get somewhere safe."

"And _you_ should probably call Adrien and then get somewhere private."

"Right, good luck."

"You too."

With that, Alya and Marinette ran off in opposing directions. Once Marinette was safely hidden from prying eyes, Tikki joined her. Marinette then took out her phone and dialed her boyfriend's number. After a minute or so of ringing, he finally picked up.

* * *

"Why, good morning, Bug-a-boo." He greeted her.

"Now's not the time for flirting, Adrien." She responded. "We've got an emergency!"

"Okay, give me the where and when!" He said, getting serious.

Marinette told him her location and he told her that he was on his way. After hanging up, Plagg called out to him from his spot on the couch, where he was enjoying a plate of camembert cheese.

"Do we really have to go? Can't we just stay here. I'm sure Ladybug can handle it by herself."

"That had better have been one of your jokes.

Plagg, Claws Out!"

Adrien held out his right fist, revealing his white ring turning black, and almost immediately, Plagg was absorbed into it, causing a green cat's paw print to appear. Adrien ran two fingers across his eyes causing black a black mask to appear. When he opened his eyes, it revealed that they had turned green and the pupils were thin like a cat's. He then ran both his hands through his hair, causing it to appear messy as well as causing black cat ears to sprout from his head. Green lightning then began to cover his body, replacing his usual daily wear with his super hero suit. His retractable bow staff appearing behind him on his belt. He had transformed into the cunning Chat Noir.

Once he was fully suited up, Chat opened up his window and used his bow staff to head off to where Marinette told him to meet her.

* * *

After hanging up, Marinette turned to Tikki.

"Alright, Tikki. Time to transform." Marinette said confidently.

"Aye-aye!" Tikki playfully saluted.

"Tikki, Spots On! Ha!"

Marinette held up the hair covering her left ear, revealing her black earrings turning red, and almost immediately, Tikki was absorbed into them, causing black spots to appear. Marinette ran her hands across her eyes causing sparkles followed by a red mask with five black spots to appear upon her face. Sparkles then began to cover her body, replacing her usual daily wear with her super hero suit. Her magic yoyo appearing around her waist. She had transformed into the miraculous Ladybug.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shadow had finally reached his destination; unfortunately, no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't seem to find the fifth emerald. After hours of searching, he was now standing in an alleyway that he had just finished searching.

"Darn!" He cursed while hitting a wall, but being careful not to break it. "Where is it?"

Shadow then decided to used his chaos sensing ability again. He brought out his emerald and held it out in front of him. He held it in a tight grasp by both of his hands and closed his eyes so that he could concentrate.

"Chaos Control…!" Shadow moved to the middle of the street, where the chaos energy was strongest. "Here?"

Shadow searched around the entire area, but still found nothing.

"This doesn't make any sense. It **should** be here." After a while, Shadow was growing impatient. "Grrrr… where is it?!"

When he yelled that, in his little fit of irritation, Shadow had stomped his foot on the ground and felt the ground shake. He was about to punch a crater into the ground, but then realized what was happening… again. After a moment of struggling, he managed to quell the darkness within him once again, but not without slightly tiring himself out.

"Darn it! _(pant) (pant)_ I have to focus on _(pant) (pant)_ finding that emerald _(pant) (pant)_ , but I can't do that _(pant)_ if I have keep fighting off—"

"We're here—LIVE—with breaking news! A new super villain is terrorizing the city" Came a female voice from nearby.

Shadow's attention was drawn to a nearby store window filled with television sets; all of which, were on the same channel, the NEWS. Shadow approached the window and saw a NEWS reporter standing next to what looked like a sinister biker gang member with two chains wrapped around his body.

"Sir, care to tell us your name?" Asked the reporter.

"You all can call me Dark Rider. And from now on, this city belongs to **me**!"

It wasn't the new villain that surprised Shadow the most. It was the fact that he was being interviewed on live television.

"I'm gonna burn straight through this whole city til' the end of forever, and ain't no way anyone is ever gonna to stop me!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Came another female voice on the T.V. that Shadow recognized.

"Wait, that's…" He said.

Shadow watched as the camera moved and closed in on the insect themed super heroine, Ladybug, as she appeared on the screen.

"Lemme' guess," said Dark Rider, " _you're_ Ladybug! I'm Dark Rider, and I want your miraculous!

"Yeah, what else is new?" The camera moved to the source of the second voice that Shadow recognized.

"You must be Chat Noir." Said Dark Rider.

"The one and only." Said Chat Noir, striking a pose.

"The two uh you bein' here just made my job a whole lot easier!"

Unseen by those watching the NEWS, the new villain then reached toward one of the chains that were wrapped around his body and pulled it off. He was now holding the chain in his hand.

"After I get **both** of your miraculouses, nothin' will stop me from takin' over this city!"

Dark Rider started spinning his chain and then threw it at Chat Noir, who dodged it with ease. Once it reached its full length, Dark Rider yanked it back to him and started spinning it again and then throwing it at Ladybug, causing _her_ to dodge the attacks.

"With aim like that, that seems unlikely."

Dark Rider kept spinning then throwing his chain repeatedly at superhero duo.

"Any idea where his akuma is hiding?" Chat Noir asked Ladybug.

"Could be in his chain, but it also could be in his jacket." She answered.

"Alright, then I guess we'll just have to go for both."

Once the camera view was back too normal, Shadow had noticed that the distance was farther than before, implying that the camera man and the reporter had probably moved farther away from the battle. Smart choice.

Dark Rider continued to throw his chain at the duo, who kept dodging until they finally leapt off of the building and onto the street. Dark Rider stopped throwing his chain.

"What's wrong? Run out of steam already?" Chat Noir mocked.

"Heh, I just wanted you two to meet a friend of mine." Said Dark Rider. "I call her Dark Wheels."

Dark Rider raised two of his fingers to his mouth and blew.

 _ **WHISTLE**_

 _ **VROOOOM**_

It was then that Ladybug and Chat Noir heard a loud, rumbling noise.

"Hey, you hear that?" Asked Chat Noir.

Turning around, Chat Noir took notice of something coming straight for them, and it was fast.

"Look out, m'lady!" He shouted, grabbing Ladybug and using his staff to propel them both out of the way.

Unfortunately, despite his efforts, Chat Noir was a tad too late, for the speeding object had run into his staff and knocked **it** over _and_ sent **them** falling into the sidewalk.

" _(groan)_ That could've gone better." Chat Noir groaned, followed by a pained groan from Ladybug.

Once they were both able to stand and see straight, they both saw that the speeding object that had almost run them over was actually a motorcycle, and one of a rather sinister and intimidating design, at that.

"What do ya' think uh' my baby, Dark Wheels?" Asked Dark Rider. "She sure is somethin', huh?"

Dark Rider then wrapped his chain around himself, climbed onto the motorcycle, and revved up the engine.

"Chat Noir, get ready." Said Ladybug, spinning her yoyo.

"He just got me by surprise." Said Chat Noir, spinning his staff. "I won't let **that** happen again."

Shadow could tell that _this_ villain was different from Baker, but he still didn't feel like his presence was needed.

" _I'm sure that they have everything under control._ " Thought Shadow as he turned around to continue his search. " _I need to get back to finding that—_ "

"Ahhhh!" Came a loud scream.

"Ladybug!" Came the call of Chat Noir.

"What?!" Shadow immediately turned around when he heard her name.

"I cannot believe what I am seeing." Said the reporter. "Dark Rider and Ladybug are gone… Wait, is that a trail?"

Hearing the report, Shadow returned to the window so that he could see what was happening. It was just as the reporter had said; Shadow couldn't see anything but Chat Noir and motorcycle tracks on the screen, leading him to the conclusion that Dark Rider must've taken her.

"I'm comin', m'lady!" Chat Noir shouted as he took his staff and used it to propel himself in the direction that the tracks lead.

"And now Chat Noir appears to be attempting to chase down Dark Rider and Ladybug. We will try to see if our NEWS chopper can see anything."

The image then changed from the reporter to a bird's eye view of the scene. Something was zooming through Paris, far too fast for the chopper's camera to zoom in on, while Chat Noir tried his best to catch up; unfortunately, Chat Noir didn't appear to be closing the gap between them in the slightest, despite his efforts. Shadow was growing less and less confident that they could win.

* * *

Dark Rider drove on down the road with Ladybug being dragged behind him, and Chat Noir attempting to tail him.

"Ha! Nice try, cat boy!" Mocked Dark Rider as he drove passed him and knocked him down. "Now then, why don't I show you just what my baby can do."

Dark Rider stared straight ahead, and speed up. At first look, it appeared as though he had lost his mind and was about to intentionally crash into a wall, but then it gets even _**more**_ odd as he pulls up and performs a wheelie, **still** increasing his speed.

"Chat Noir, **help**!" Screamed Ladybug.

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" Shouted Chat Noir, but he just couldn't catch up to the motorcycle.

Before Ladybug knew it, her head had hit something, and it felt as though she was upside-down. Once she finally recovered from the hit and took another look around, she had realized that she was **indeed** upside-down _**and**_ going up; up a building wall, that is. That was the reason behind Dark Rider's wheelie.

It wasn't long until the Dark Wheels had finally reached the edge of the roof, but the motorcycle didn't stop; it just kept going up. Almost like a plane driving down a runway, only to end up driving off of a ramp and into the air. Soon, gravity finally kicked in and started pulling down the heaviest object, which was the Dark Wheels. Unfortunately for Ladybug, Dark Rider had let go of his chain so that she would continue flying up, further than the motorcycle, until gravity finally started affecting _her_ , resulting in her plummeting to her doom.

Thanks to inertia, Ladybug had flown up higher than the motorcycle. Chat Noir pushed himself forward as far as he could. He even tried jumping off of his staff so that he would reach her in time. As he flew straight for her, he felt that he would succeed. Unfortunately, he did not. His hand was only a single centimeter away from her leg, but she **still** continued to fall while screaming.

With her arms and legs tied up, she had absolutely no way to save herself. Looking up, she could see Chat Noir diving in a way that was intended to make him fall faster. In worry, she shut her eyes, hoping that the next thing that she would feel would be Chat Noir's arms, or at least his hand on the chain.

Before she knew it, Ladybug had stopped falling. She opened her eyes, expecting to find herself in the arms of Chat Noir, but she wasn't. Instead, she saw something that, for the second time today, made her stop and stare. She saw a pair of crimson eyes staring back at her from the dark shadows of a black hoodie. Chat Noir latched onto the nearest windowsill to stop himself from falling any further when he saw someone in a black hood appear in front of him, and heard the sound of rattling chains. Upon inspection, he could see that it was Ladybug being held in his arms, meaning that she was safe from danger.

" _(sigh)_ Thank goodness." He sighed in relief.

Everyone watched as the mysterious hooded figure, floating in mid-air, began to drift down to the ground with a tied up Ladybug in his arms and something glowing yellow in his hand. He then knelt down, laid her onto the ground, put whatever was in his hand into his pocket, removed his hand from his pocket, raised his hand, which was now glowing green, and struck at her. She just barely flinched, but soon realized that his purpose was to cut her out of the chains that had bound her once she saw her body free of the metal that was now lying on the ground, beneath her. Once again, Shadow had saved her life.

"Thank you." She said in awe. "But, how did you know—"

"The NEWS." He said plainly.

"Hey!" Came the rough voice of the villain, Dark Rider. "Who—the heck—are _you_ supposed to be?!"

Shadow stood and turned to face Dark Rider.

"Nah. You know what?" Asked the Dark Rider, arising from his bike. "I don't care. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna make you regret getting in my way!"

Dark Rider took hold of the second chain, removed it, and started spinning it around.

"Get ready, buddy, 'cause you're in for a **world** of hurt!"

Dark Rider threw his chain toward Shadow. Shadow noticed how the chain was aimed right at his upper torso, so, using his super speed, he leaned back so that the chain would shoot right passed him. Just when it did so, Shadow grabbed the chain with both hands.

"Hey! Let go of my chain!"

" _He's obviously not French._ " Shadow thought, as grasped the chain tightly. " _His accent and the way he puts no effort in his French pronunciations proves that much. But then why is he here? Why was he akumatized? And_ _ **where**_ _is his akuma? Well, I know_ _ **one**_ _thing; he is definitely nothing like Baker, and since he's—more than likely—not related to Marinette…_ "

Shadow followed up on his thought by grinning maliciously at Dark Rider.

"H-hey!" He said, struggling to pull the chain back toward himself. "W-what's that… l-look about?!"

Shadow's only answer was using his strength to yank the chain back with Dark Rider still holding onto it, causing the supervillain to be flung forward. Now that he was in close range, Shadow followed up by punching Dark Rider in the gut so hard, that it knocked him back a few feet.

"Augh-Ah-Ooh-ughf!" He said as he repeatedly impacted the ground.

With the wind knocked out of him, he could barely get to his knees. He clutched his lower abdomen in an effort to ease the pain, slightly. He looked at Shadow with a vengeful expression, then slowly raised a hand to his mouth. Ladybug new just what he was going to do.

"Hey…!" She began to call out to warn him. "Um… uh…"

Ladybug knew that she couldn't use Shadow's **real** name, or at least, she _thought_ that was his real name since that was the name he used when introducing himself the other day. So, after a second or two of thinking, she just said the first thing that came to mind that sounded remotely like a superhero name. Two words that came to her that reminded her of him based on what she knew and what she had heard from him.

"Dark… uh… Chaos!" She shouted to him. "Dark Chaos!"


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow heard what sounded like a name. It sounded like Ladybug had just given him some kind of nickname. He turned to her.

"That's not my—" He began before he was interrupted.

 _ **WHISTLE**_

"Look out for his motorcycle!" She shouted.

 _ **VROOOOM**_

Shadow's eyes widened in realization, but he was too late to react, for the motorcycle had already reached him. Before he knew it, the vehicle had collided with him and knocked him a few feet away, just like _**he**_ did to Dark Rider, causing him to drop the chain in the process. While on the first two impacts, he landed on his side, on the last one, he pushed off of the ground with his hands so he could re-position himself in mid-air. He ended up landing on his feet and used one hand to stop himself from moving backwards. The motorcycle stopped right by Dark Rider, who used it to help himself stand up. Chat Noir finally landed on the ground and quickly made his way to his lady.

"Ladybug, are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ladybug responded. "Thanks to Sha—I-I mean Dark Chaos."

Chat looked passed Ladybug to see the hooded hero.

"You mean _him_?"

Chat remembered him from the battle with Baker. Once the Dark Wheels had made its way to its master, Dark Rider boarded the bike and turned it around so that he would be facing Shadow.

"You think you can lay a hit on me and get away with it?!" Dark Rider shouted. "No way! Now I'm really gonna make you hurt!"

Dark Rider revved up his engine and took off with great speed. First, he retrieved his chain, then redirected himself toward Shadow. Shadow expected him to pull the same trick and try to catch him with his chain, but he was wrong. Dark Rider had wrapped his chain around _**something**_ , but it wasn't Shadow. It was a nearby street lamp.

"Let's see how you like **this**!" He shouted as he pulled the street lamp right out of the ground.

Dark Rider swung the chain around, using the street lamp at the end of it like a weapon. Dark Rider raced down the street and swung his arm down, bringing the chain down with it.

In less than five seconds, Dark Rider went from sitting on the sidewalk to bringing a street lamp down on top of Shadow's head. At the last possible moment, Shadow back flipped out of the way. Looking straight ahead, he saw the street lamp plunged into the ground without the chain or Dark Rider. Shadow hadn't even noticed when Dark Rider sped up beside him until it was too late. Dark Rider swung his chain and it wrapped around Shadow's waist.

"What—?!"

Dark Rider then zoomed down the street and dragged Shadow with him at break neck speed.

"Whoooaaa…!"

"Dark Chaos!" Ladybug screamed as she watched him be pulled away by Dark Rider, before turning to Chat Noir. "Come on, Chat Noir! He needs us!"

"Okay, but how do you know his name?" He asked her.

Ladybug wasn't sure how to answer that question.

"Um… no time!" She said. "He needs our help! C'mon!"

And so, without another word, she took out her yoyo, and took off. Chat Noir soon took off after her, but was feeling a little doubtful. Meanwhile, it didn't take Shadow any longer than about two minutes to figure out what to do. First, he re-positioned himself and grabbed onto the chain so that he could use his air shoes to ski on the road.

" _He's faster than I thought._ " Thought Shadow. " _Man, this guy is_ **really** _starting to tick my off! Well, I'm not going to just stand here and be humiliated like this!_ "

Shadow began increasing the propulsion from his shoes so that the force would be enough to stop them from moving forward. Soon, with the combination of the increased propulsion and Shadow's strength, Dark Wheels began to slow down. Shadow saw that it wasn't enough to stop them, so he increased the power further. His shoes literally ignited from how much power they were using, scorching the ground beneath Shadow's feet.

"Huh?!" Dark Rider took notice of his bike's slowed movement. "Hey, what's goin' on!"

Dark Rider then heard a grunt from behind him, and all of a sudden, his motorcycle had almost completely stopped moving, only managing a few half-inches forward every second. He turned around to find that the source was none other than the very being who he had wrapped in his own chain.

"Hey! Knock it off or I'll hurt you more!" He said.

" _Tch_ , I don't have time to waste here on you!" Shadow responded.

Dark Rider turned back around and revved up his engine again, resulting in the speed of his tire's spinning to increase. Smoke emanated from his back tire as the speed continued to increase. Shadow felt them inching forward faster.

" _Grrr…_ You're really… starting to…" as Shadow patience lowered, his anger rose, soon resulting in his eyes turning yellow and the skin around them turning red, "… **tick** … **me** … **OFF**!"

All of a sudden, it was almost as if Shadow had received a sudden surge of power without removing his inhibitor rings, because with a single, strong enough jerk of the chain, Shadow was able to lift the Dark Wheels off of the ground and into the air, throwing Dark Rider off of his bike and into the road on the other side of him in the process. Both Dark Rider and his motorcycle collided with the earth with great force.

 _ **KRACKA-BOOM**_

"Whoa! Did you see that?!" Chat Noir asked Ladybug when he took notice of the puff of smoke arising from behind some buildings as they both grew closer to the villain and new "hero".

"Yeah! It's gotta be them!" Ladybug responded. "Let's hurry!"

Dark Rider and the Dark Wheels were both in one piece, but were still somewhat damaged. Shadow eyed the supervillain, as he struggled to get to his knees, with absolute scorn. He looked up to see Shadow approach him and instantly whistled for his bike's aid.

 _ **WHISTLE**_

 _ **VROOOOM**_

The Dark Wheels turned around and sped right towards Shadow, but he wasn't even phased. With a single swat of his hand, Shadow knocked the bike away and into a nearby building, but his eyes ever stayed locked on Dark Rider, who was suddenly feeling a little frightened.

" _What are you doing?!_ " Asked the dark voice in Dark Rider's head. " _Stop him!_ "

"I can't." Dark Rider quietly responded. "He's too strong."

As Shadow continued his approach, his waist, the area that was currently wrapped up in Dark Rider's chain, started to glow green.

 _ **VOIP**_

Shadow suddenly vanished in flash of light, leaving the chain to fall on the ground, and then reappeared in a flash of light before Dark Rider. His face lost all traces of emotion.

"You have wasted so much of my time," he said with no emotion in his voice, "and for that, **you will pay**."

Shadow then slowly entered a martial arts pose with one arm held horizontally between himself and Dark Rider, and another raised up high in the air with his pinkie and ring fingers folded, leaving only the three other fingers extended. His whole hand then began glowing green, same as when he freed Ladybug from the chain.

"Good **bye**."

Shadow then brought his hand down upon Dark Rider, but was then stopped by something wrapping around his wrist all of a sudden. At the end of the wire, was a familiar red yoyo with black spots. Shadow raised an eyebrow at this.

"Stop!" He heard a familiar voice call out.

Shadow turned around to see Ladybug holding onto the wire with both hands while Chat Noir stood beside her.

"You don't want to do this!" She said.

"C'mon, Dark Chaos. Can't we all just get along?" Chat Noir asked half-jokingly.

Shadow stood there for a moment, staring at the two of them with a blank expression on his face, but then Ladybug and Chat Noir soon took notice of the green glow from his hand move to his wrist.

 _ **VOIP**_

Shadow warped so that he would be right in front of the both of them. Ladybug also took notice of how her yoyo was no longer wrapped around his wrist, but was now lying on the ground where he stood before. Chat Noir raised his staff in defense.

"Stay out of my way, Ladybug." Shadow said. "He needs to be punished for his crimes."

"But it's not his fault; it's Hawkmoth's!" Said Ladybug.

"I've already wasted enough of my time with this fool. Don't make yourself an obstacle by wasting any **more**."

"Waste your time for what?" Asked Chat. "Got other nice folks you need to be a jerk to?"

"I don't have time for this." He then turned back around and began advancing toward Dark Rider.

"Wait! **Stop**!" Ladybug shouted.

"It's no use, Ladybug. He's just another punk who doesn't care about anybody but himself." Said Chat.

"No, he's not!" She then focused on Shadow. "I know you're not! You're a hero; I **know** you are!"

Shadow then stopped walking.

"You don't know anything about me."

"That's not true, and you know it! It may be true that I don't know **everything** , but I know enough."

"Just forget it."

"You may act rude, but I know you can be kind."

"Drop it." He warned.

"You have your secrets, but you're still honest."

"I said ' **Drop**. **It**.'" Shadow turned around part way.

"I may have misunderstood you before, but I understand enough **now**."

Shadow then turned completely around, his once emotionless face was filled with fury.

"Just. **Shut**. **UP**! I've already been through enough this week, from being tossed through time and space to being **literally** tossed around! And every minute spent by you talking is another minute I could be using to find the other three chaos emeralds, my only hope for getting back home! So stay out of my way or I'll remove you **myself**!"

He focused his sight on her. Ladybug was ultimately stunned by what she had just heard. Chat Noir, on the other paw, wasn't really following. He missed a lot of what Shadow had just said. Then, Ladybug finally saw it. From where she was standing, she could see the faintest shades of red around his eyes.

" _(gasp)_ " She gasped.

" _Hawkmoth's dark power_!" She thought. " **That's** _why he's acting like this_."

"You don't want to fight us." Said Ladybug. "It's Hawkmoth's power. It's confusing you."

"What?! Hawkmoth?!" Exclaimed Chat Noir.

"Please, I know you're a good person deep down. Even if you won't tell me; I can tell from your actions, the actions that are your own, that your good."

Shadow wanted to tell her off for her insolence, but as he saw her expression, his face started to slowly soften until he finally began to feel sorrow for his actions. Mainly, his hostility towards her. Then, looking right at Ladybug, a familiar flash occurred, and her image changed to Maria's and back again. Shadow's eyes widened once again when he saw this, and then his head started hurting.

" _Gah_!" Shadow held onto his head, panting as his eyes turned red, once more, and the skin around them turned back to their normal shade. "W-wha…? Did I just… I… I… lost control… **again**."

Ladybug smiled while Chat Noir just looked confused.

"Alright, I'll bite. What just happened?" Asked Chat.

At first, she was unsure of how to answer, so she chose to evade.

"Uh, I'll tell you later, Kitty." She said.

All of these dodged questions only made him more curious about what she knew about this "Dark Chaos". Without warning, Ladybug had left his side and hurried over to Shadow's. Chat raised an eyebrow to this, but then figured that this was just his partner's usual compassionate nature.

Shadow was standing, but he was hunched over with his hands on his knees to support his upper body while he caught his breath. He looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps, and was instantly greeted with a sincere smile from Ladybug.

"Are you alright, Shadow?" She asked him quietly so that Chat wouldn't hear her use his real name.

"Fine. I'm… fine." He responded.

Ladybug then reached her hand toward him to see if he needed any assistance. When Shadow saw this, he merely turned away from her hand, and straightened himself up. Despite this, Ladybug continued to smile.

"I'm glad that you're alright."

Shadow looked at her for a moment. As he looked at Ladybug's smiling face, he began to see the similarities between her and Maria. Once again, in a flash, her face turned into Maria's and then back again. Shadow instantly turned away from her.

"… Thank you."

Then, Chat Noir took notice of something and decided to point it out.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but… um…" Chat Noir pointed to what he was talking about.

When Ladybug and Shadow heard Chat and turned to see what he was talking about, the both of them widened their eyes as they realized that Dark Rider, Dark Wheels, and the chain were gone.

"He's gone!" Said Ladybug.

The three of them approached and examined Dark Rider's previous position. The only traces of him that were left were the scorched motorcycle tracks that were left behind by Dark Wheels. Shadow felt the tracks; they were hot.

"He couldn't have gone far." He said.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Chaos, but were you not paying attention?" Chat commented.

"Chat Noir's right. He's too fast for us." Said Ladybug.

"He's not too fast for **me**." Said Shadow.

"That's right. Sh—D-Dark Chaos can catch up with him."

"And just how are _we_ supposed to keep up?" Asked Chat.

"Dark Chaos, you're strong. Do you think you can carry us?"

Shadow thought for a moment; he previously decided that he should wait until later to bring up the whole "nickname issue".

"I don't think so." He told her. "It would be too difficult to carry two people with me when I run without one of them falling off along the way. I'll just run on ahead and deal with him myself."

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir didn't like that idea, out of fear of him taking things farther than necessary.

"Wait! Maybe there's something _I_ can do." Said Ladybug.

Ladybug then threw her magic yoyo up into the air.

"Lucky Charm!"

Sparkles then started to gather together around her yoyo. Banding together, they formed a red object with black spots that then landed into her hands.

"Hm? Roller-skates?" Asked Shadow.

"And only one pair." Commented Chat. "So, how do we do this? You take one, _I_ take one?"

"Bad idea. That's an accident just **waiting** to happen."

Ladybug then started putting the pieces together. She saw the skates in her hands, Chat's feet, Shadow, and her yoyo.

"I've got it. Here's what we're going to do."

Ladybug then told them her plan.

"Oh, no way!" Exclaimed Chat.

"You'd rather take _her_ place…?" Asked Shadow. "Fine, I don't care, let's just get this done. We're wasting time."

"No. We have to do this the way I said it. It's the only way."

"Ugh, let's just do this! The longer we wait, the farther ahead Dark Rider gets, and the faster _I'll_ have to go just keep up with him!"

Chat Noir didn't like it, but he knew that there was no time to argue.

"Alright, fine." He relented.

They then put the plan into action.

"But just answer me **one** question." Said Shadow, once everyone was in position. "Why _this_ way?"

"… I… can't wear skates without falling all over myself." Said Ladybug.

Chat Noir was wearing the red skates with black spots on his feet, holding onto Ladybug's yoyo, that was currently tied securely around Shadow's waist while _Shadow_ carried Ladybug bridal style.

"Alright… HOLD **TIGHT**!" Shadow shouted.

Like a bullet, Shadow dashed off down the road, in the same direction as the tracks. Chat Noir held onto the line for dear life as they all raced to meet Dark Rider. Ladybug, who was unintentionally keeping Shadow's hood up with her hands being around his neck, kept her eyes shut as they moved. All of them were a black and red blur, zooming through Paris. Soon, Shadow caught sight of their target.

"I see him!" He shouted so that Chat could hear from behind him.

Ladybug heard him as well, and opened her eyes to see Dark Wheels right ahead of them. He was wearing the chain around his torso. Shadow increased his speed slightly so that they would be right beside him.

"Excuse me!" Called Chat. "But you _**do**_ realize that you're going 90 in a 25 mi. per hour zone, _right_?!"

"Wha?!" Exclaimed Dark Rider when he saw them.

In an effort to escape, he revved up his engine to speed up, and turned a corner. Unfortunately for him, Shadow was able to keep pace, even when going through sharp turns, and Chat Noir managed to keep holding on.

"Chat Noir! Your stick!" Called Ladybug, reaching out to her partner with one hand while holding onto Shadow with her other.

Chat Noir held onto the line with one hand, and reached for his staff with the other. Once he had it in his grasp, he held it out toward Ladybug and extended its length so that it would reach her hand. She grabbed it and reduced its size. She then turned her attention back to Dark Rider.

"Aim for the front wheel, and wait for my signal!" Shadow told her.

"What?!" She asked.

"The front wheel! Trust me!"

Ladybug set her sights on her target and readied the staff. Dark Rider saw that they were trying to do something, so he took his chain off of his body, held it in his hand, and started to swing it around in circles.

"Steady!" Shadow instructed. "Steady!"

Ladybug tried her best to keep Chat's staff steady, until…

"Now!"

Just as instructed, before Dark Rider could bring down his chain, Ladybug extended the staff's length, causing it to shoot right through the wheel and into the ground on the other side. Shadow stopped moving when he saw the staff pass through the wheel, by facing the rockets in his shoes in the direction that he and Ladybug were moving. He and Chat Noir also ducked just in time before they hit the staff, passing underneath it. The way that Chat Noir ducked was similar to the way one would in a game of limbo. With the metal obstruction in the way, the wheel stopped moving, causing the rest of the bike to turn over, using the front wheel to guide it forward without moving forward, resulting in Dark Rider being catapulted from his bike, releasing his chain.

"Chat Noir! Now!" Shadow called to Chat Noir as he passed by.

"Got it!" Chat Noir responded as he let go of the line.

Chat Noir continued to move forward, as did Dark Rider. Soon, Chat was right underneath him.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir raised his right hand up as dark energy built up in his palm. He closed his hand, allowing the destructive, magical energy to be absorbed into it.

Given how he wasn't so protective of his chains, that only left one other option, his jacket. Chat Noir reached up and merely touched the jacket's leather with the tip of his finger; fortunately, that proved to be enough, for the destructive magic then began to course through the leather, causing the black color scheme to turn grey and white. A second later, the entire jacket disintegrated.

As a means to stop himself from moving, Chat Noir shifted his position so that his skates were perpendicular to the direction that he was moving in and the brakes were pressed firmly onto the road. He also used his clawed gloves to aid in him slowing down. As Chat finally skidded to a halt, so too did Dark Rider.

"Chat Noir!" He heard Ladybug call out to him. "Are you alright?!"

Chat Noir turned to see his partner and new ally make their way to his position. They had to double back before this so that they could retrieve his weapon that was currently safe in Ladybug's hands. Ladybug was still in Shadow's arms when they arrived, and Chat wasn't too happy about that.

" **Mmm** , Yeah, sure." He grunted.

"What?!" Asked Ladybug, surprised at his tone.

"Huh?! Oh, um… I mean, Yeah, I'm fine… Everything's fine, m'lady." He responded in a more cheerful tone as he took his weapon back.

Chat tried his best to hide his jealousy behind his signature grin.

"Hey!"

The sound of Dark Rider's voice caught their attention, they all turned to see that he was still in his villain costume, sans his leather jacket.

"That was my favorite jacket, you little **punks**!"

"Say-what?!" Exclaimed Chat.

"I don't understand. That should've worked." Ladybug's eye widened in realization. "Unless…"

"His jacket wasn't the thing that was akumatized." Shadow continued for her.

"Okay, so where is it, then?" Asked Chat.

"I… I don't—"

 _ **BEEP BEEP**_

Ladybug was interrupted by the sound of her miraculous.

" _(gasp)_ Oh, no!"

 _ **BEEP BEEP**_

Chat Noir's soon followed.

"Well, we'd better hurry up and find it, fast!"

"Now I'm **really** mad!" Shouted Dark Rider, picking up his chain again as he finally got back up to his feet.

Dark Rider then started to spin his chain in front of him, thus resulting in a powerful wind to be generated. Shadow had to turn his head one hundred and eighty degrees around so that the wind wouldn't blow his hood off. The heroes were being pushed back.

"We have to find that akuma!" Ladybug shouted through the wind.

"How?! We have no idea where to look!" Chat shouted back.

"Wait a minute!" Shadow whispered to himself in realization.

Shadow looked around and found that Dark Wheels had moved a fair distance away from the fight.

"I don't think it's on him!" He shouted to the other two heroes.

"What?!" Shouted Ladybug.

"I don't think **he's** the one holding the object with the akuma in it!"

"If not _him_ , then **who**?!" Shouted Chat Noir.

"Look!" Shadow pointed to the motorcycle.

It was at that moment that it finally hit them.

"Of course! His motorcycle is always out of the way until he calls it." Said Ladybug.

"I have a plan!" Shouted Shadow. "You two distract him, while _I_ search for it!"

" _Okay_ , but how are we supposed to **distract** him if we're stuck like this?!" Shouted Chat Noir.

Shadow looked around and saw a parked car behind him.

"Ladybug, your Miraculous Ladybug can repair any damage to the city, right?!"

"Yes, why?!" Ladybug shouted.

"Give me your yoyo!"

Ladybug did as he said and once her magic yoyo was in Shadow's position, Shadow threw it at the parked car and it wrapped around the parked vehicle. Shadow then used his strength to flip the car over their heads and have it land sideways between them and Dark Rider.

"Grrrrr, no fair!" Shouted Dark Rider when he realized that his wind wouldn't be able get past the makeshift defense.

A moment later, he saw Ladybug leap over the car and Chat Noir come running from the side. They came running at him from opposing directions. In an effort to take care of them both, he grabbed his chain by the middle and started spinning it over his head, and just as the heroes were about to strike, he kneeled down, thus resulting in the two of them being hit by the chain. They too, started spinning along _with_ the chain.

 _ **BEEP BEEP**_

The sound of their miraculouses told them that they were running out of time. However, as Dark Rider kept spinning them, he soon realized something.

"Huh? Wait a minute." He said as he began to look around for the only other person who wasn't with them.

His eyes widened when he saw that the individual that he was looking for was looking inside of his motorcycle's bags.

"Hey!"

He stopped spinning the heroes, causing them to be flung in opposite directions. The both of them had landed on their backs, and were very dizzy after their ordeal.

" _Uh_ -oh. Looks like the cat's out of the bag." Chat Noir still managed to joke despite his dizzied state.

Dark Rider then held one hand up to his mouth and stuck his thumb and middle finger in.

 _ **WHISTLE**_

 _ **VROOOOM**_

Just as Shadow was about to search the other bag, the vehicle instantly drove away from him.

"[Darn it!]" He exclaimed in English before taking off to pursue it.

It didn't take long for Shadow to catch up with Dark Wheels, but the difficult part came when he had to search the bag. He knew that it would be too difficult to search while running; especially with all of the turns that it was making. So, he did the best thing that he could think of; he jumped onto Dark Wheels.

Dark Wheels was shaking and moving erratically in attempt to rid itself of its unwanted passenger, but Shadow kept holding on as he reached back to search the bag. Inside, he found a peculiar item that was radiating with negative energy.

" _Hmph_." Shadow grunted in approval as he took the item and stuffed it into his pocket.

Shadow then turned around and grabbed Dark Wheels' handlebars. Using his enhanced strength, he managed to—forcibly—turn the motorcycle around, and direct and ride it back to the battlefield. Along the way, since the wind was being blasted into his face while he drove with his head up, the force finally managed to knock his hood off, revealing his face. Fortunately, since he was moving so fast, he couldn't be seen by anyone. After about one minute, he had almost reached the battlefield; however, just as he was about to pull the breaks, he felt a strange pain in his stomach, causing him to grab it.

"Ah! Blast it! Of all the times for my hunger to kick in!"

It was true, for all that he had for breakfast that morning was a piece of bread, but that was _before_ he lost it when he ran into Marinette. Or rather _she_ ran into _him_. With only one hand on the handlebars, Dark Wheels managed to turn itself so that it was now skidding across the road, thus throwing Shadow off, before it then straightened itself out, and returned to its master.

"Oh, no!" Ladybug shouted when she saw the motorcycle skidding and driving away from Shadow's tumbling body.

She immediately made her way to his side. Shadow managed to straighten himself out and stop, but his stomach was still growling.

" _I haven't been_ _ **this**_ _hungry since I escaped the ARK and was force into hiding._ " Shadow thought to himself.

"Hey!" Came Ladybug's voice.

Shadow stood up and turned around to see her running to him. Despite the fact that she was still a little dizzy and she had only two spots left on her miraculous, she managed to make it to him. Without warning, she lunged at him and pulled his hood back over his face before anyone could see him.

" _(sigh)_ That was close." She said in relief.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah, we both are. A little dizzy, but we'll manage."

"Ha!" Laughed Dark Rider. "Looks like you lost! Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha…!"

" _Hmph_. Did we?"

Shadow then reached into his pocket and pulled out a very old wanted poster that was purple everywhere except for the actual picture, which was of an old biker gang.

"Wha?!"

Shadow grabbed the paper and ripped it in half. When he did so, the akuma emerged from the poster.

"No!" Shouted Dark Rider, falling to his knees.

"Now, Ladybug." Said Shadow.

Ladybug took out her yoyo and ran a finger down the middle of it.

"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma."

The yoyo then opened up, revealing a bright white light from inside it. She started swinging the yoyo back and forth, building up momentum, but then started spinning it around and around, posing while getting ready to release it.

"Time to de-evilize!"

She threw out her yoyo toward the akuma, which became trapped inside before it closed once again. The yoyo soon returned to Ladybug, who caught it with ease.

"Gotcha!"

Ladybug then tapped the top of her yoyo and it opened up once again, releasing a white winged butterfly from it.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly."

Ladybug smiled, then took the red roller skates with black spots and tossed them into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The roller skates then disappeared in the sky, and in their place, a very large loveliness of sparkling ladybugs appeared and spread out in random directions. All of a sudden, all of the damage was repaired, all of the tire marks disappeared, Dark Rider's jacket was reformed and had changed shape to a less threatening design, the wanted poster was fixed and was no longer filled with dark energy; everything was as it was before Dark Rider attacked. Even Dark Rider _himself_ , along with his motorcycle, Dark Wheels, were returned to their normal forms from before they were akumatized. Dark Rider turned into a normal looking biker, and his motorcycle returned to being a normal looking motorcycle.

Once he was returned to normal, he looked around. He seemed to be confused.

"[Huh? Where am I?]" The confused biker said in English while scratching his head.

"Pound it!" Said Ladybug and Chat Noir while performing their signature "job well done" fist bump.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the lair of Hawkmoth, the villain behind the attack was beside himself with anger after his latest plan failing.

"NOOOOO…!" He shouted into his stained glass window. "I was so close! If it weren't for that boy again and his powers! But I can feel it. Very soon, _I'll_ have that power, and then Paris… no, the whole **world** will belong to **me**!"

Once he was finished ranting, the light in his room began to fade as his stained glass window began to close.

* * *

Meanwhile, back with our heroes, the biker managed to get to his feet just as the local authorities showed up.

"Alright, we'll handle it from here." Said the police officer.

Shadow turned and saw that it was the very same police officer that he had met that morning. In response, he turned and pulled his hood further over his face.

"No need for that officer." Said Chat Noir. "We've got this cat in the bag."

The officer then looked past them.

"What 'cat'?"

The heroes then turned to see that the biker was making a break for his motorcycle.

 _ **VOIP**_

Shadow suddenly appeared in front of him, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him off of his feet.

"Going somewhere?" He said sarcastically.

"Dark Chaos!" Ladybug shouted to him, making him lower his head and sigh after hearing that nickname.

"That's not my—!"

"Put him down." She demanded.

"Look 'D.C.'," said Chat, "this guy's back to his old self. So just let him go and—"

"Disregard that order Mr. Dark Chaos." Said the police officer as he appeared behind Ladybug and Chat Noir. "That man is almost as much a criminal now as he was when he was supervillain."

"Pardon? Come again?" Asked Chat.

"This criminal has been riding his motorcycle all over Europe, causing all kinds of destruction with his gang. He's the only one of them to not be apprehended by authorities… until **now**."

"[We coulda' been big.]" Said the biker. "[As big as my grandpa's gang, but now, thanks to you **superheroes** … You're all gonna pay for this. When my gang gets out, we're comin' **back** to Paris, and then you'll get yours! You'll see! You'll all see!]"

"… Excuse me?" Asked Ladybug, who couldn't seem to understand him.

"He sai—"

"He's speaking in English." Said Shadow, interrupting Chat. "Must be his native tongue, which would explain why his French pronunciations were all over the place. He just threatened us. Just an empty threat, nothing more. But personally…"

Shadow held his collar with both hands, and pulled the biker's head closer until it was right in front of his face.

"[… I find empty threats **really** annoying.]" Shadow said in English.

 _ **KRACKA-BAM**_

With a single head-butt, Shadow rendered the criminal unconscious, finally silencing his loud mouth. If there were a chance that he may have seen Shadow's true face, it would no longer be a problem. That hit was hard enough cause minor memory loss. He then went back to holding his collar in one hand and walked over to offer him to the officer.

"You can take him away now. He won't be any trouble." Said Shadow.

Everyone just stared at him, wide-eyed. After a whole five seconds, the police officer finally took the man by the armpits, and after almost dropping him when he finally realized that the boy with super strength made the criminal seem lighter than he really was, he managed drag him away to the police car with some help from his fellow police officers. However, Ladybug and Chat Noir remained silent, staring at the boy who just head-butted someone into a state of unconsciousness without so much as a flinch in pain.

"Well, if there's nothing else going on today, I'll just— _ugh_!" Shadow was about to leave when he was suddenly struck with pain.

" _(gasp)_ " Ladybug gasped.

"Whoa! Are you alright?!" Asked Chat.

Shadow turned around so that the two heroes could see him holding his stomach.

"I'm just… a little hungry." Said Shadow. "I'd better go get something to eat."

With that, he continued to leave.

"Hey, wait!" Called Ladybug, who was about to follow after until she was stopped by her partner.

"Hold on there, bugaboo." Said Chat Noir, grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards him in a manner, similar to dancing.

 _ **BEEP BEEP**_

"We'd better high-tail it, _too_ , before our time is up." Chat Noir pointed to Ladybug's earrings, which now only had one spot each.

" _(sigh)_ You're right. We have to go."

"After you, m'lady."

"Actually, there's something that I need to take care of on my own. But I promise I'll call you later, bye."

With a smile, a wave goodbye, and not another word, Ladybug leapt up onto the rooftops above and disappeared from sight. Chat Noir was curious about his partner's secrecy, but he didn't have time to ponder, since he too needed to leave immediately. So, using his staff, he made his escape to the rooftops on the opposite side of the street.

* * *

A while later, Marinette could be seen walking down the street, talking on her phone. After calling Alya and Adrien, telling them something so to mostly cover why she wasn't going to meet them at the moment, and also finding out that Alya had taken the liberty of retrieving all of the supplies that the two of them had purchased that day and delivered them to her house, saying that Marinette owed her at least twenty…

* * *

It was a lot of stuff.

* * *

… she was then talking on the phone with her parents.

"I'm sorry, Papa, something just came up, last minute… Yes, I promise that I'll be home before dinner… Okay, love you too… Bye."

Once she hung up, she decided to begin her search; however, she wasn't exactly sure **where** to start looking. What with how massive a city like Paris was, added to the fact that the individual that she was looking for could teleport and move super-fast, this seemed like a lost cause, but then, she noticed something when walking by a bus stop. She saw someone sitting at the bus stop, reading a large, unfolded piece of paper. A map by the look of it. Pure luck struck when the person holding the paper lowered in enough to see his face and hair; it was Shadow.

After checking for cars, and then crossing the road, she then made her way over to the dark haired teen. Since her footsteps were naturally soft, she figured that the reason why he didn't turn around when she approached was because he just didn't hear her. That was how it usually was whenever she walked by someone in the past; of course, that someone was usually Adrien before they started dating. But then, just as she was about to greet him, something happened. In an instant, Shadow stood up, spun on his heel, and jabbed his hand right into Marinette's face.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm sorry that this came out a few hours late, but here it is.

* * *

Shadow was busy reading his map of the city, trying to find a proper place to eat, as well as sleep without any worry of breaking any laws or anyone complaining. At the very least, he was hoping to find a shelter or something. While his eyes were on the paper, he suddenly had the strange feeling that someone was watching him. He heard the sound of footsteps sneaking up behind him and suspected that it was someone trying to sneak up on him so that they could rob him or something. Rather than turn around immediately and confront the individual, he waited, letting them get closer. Once whoever-it-was was close enough, he loosened his grip on the map, and in one sudden motion, he stood, spun on his heel, straightened his hand, and jabbed the air, sticking his hand right in front of the face of whoever it was that was foolish enough to sneak up on him.

"Eep!" Marinette responded when she saw the black fingerless gloved hand just mere centimeter away from her face.

"Marinette?!" Said Shadow, instantly pulling his hand away. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, hi, Shadow. Nice to see you again." Said Marinette, relaxing and smiling now that the hand was no longer so close to her face, but she still couldn't take her eyes off of it; perhaps out of shock from almost being hit in the face.

Shadow noticed her staring at something. He looked at his hand, still in an attack ready position, shook it, and then stuffed it into his pant pocket.

"I'm sorry about the… um…"

"Yeah… that. It's alright. Really."

"What are doing here sneaking up on me?" Shadow raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I wasn't sneaking. I just have quiet footsteps." Marinette quickly and nervously explained. "And I wanted to make sure you were okay. You left so suddenly, I was worried for you."

"Hmph, whatever. I have to get… going."

"'Going'? Going where?"

Shadow didn't _want_ to tell her about his… "economic situation", but then his stomach, which chose quite the opportune moment to make his hunger known, started grumbling loudly. Even though he's had—tiny—portions of bread to eat before he lost his loaf, he was still starving. The aches that came with his hunger weren't very helpful either.

"Ugh!"

"Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine…! I just… need something to eat. Hopefully, I can find a shelter nearby."

"'A shelter'?"

And just as Shadow said the word "shelter", Marinette remembered something that Shadow had said when they were battling Dark Rider.

" _…And every minute spent by you talking is another minute I could be using to find the other three chaos emeralds, my only hope for getting back home!_ "

" _'… getting back home'?_ " She thought.

"Shadow, do you have no place to stay?"

Shadow paused for a moment, but then started folding up his map. Choosing to avoid further conversation, he placed his map into his bag, strapped said bag around his shoulders, and began walking away.

"Wait! Hold on! You didn't answer my question!"

"You needn't concern yourself with me."

"Shadow, since I met you, all you've been doing is making me more and more curious, and even **worried** about you. You say that 'we'll never see each other again', yet somehow, we end up constantly running into each other… or maybe you **mean** to run into me."

"…! My involvement with your daily heroics are… merely beneficial to my mission."

"You mean your mission to 'get back home'?"

"I… wasn't in my proper state of mind at the time. What I said was—"

"What you said was that you 'needed to find the other three chaos emeralds' because they were 'your only way back home'."

Again, she approached him with an assertion of dominance in her steps.

"That's classified information."

Shadow stood his ground.

"Shadow, you say that it's 'classified', but I'm starting to think that maybe you just don't want help with whatever it is that you're doing."

"The information is **classified** to keep individuals safe, so what I'm doing is none of your business."

"'Keeping individuals safe' is my job, so that **makes** it my business."

Shadow's patience was wearing thin, but just as he was about to warp away again, Marinette suddenly grabbed his arm.

"And don't even think about teleporting away. I want answers, and I want them now!"

As the two of them stood there, staring at each other, Shadow began to wonder why he thought that Marinette resembled Maria in the first place, because at this point, she looked nothing like her. But then, her grip on his arm began to loosen and her hand began to make its way down to his hand.

"It's just," said Marinette, "you've saved my life three times already, but it feels like you just keep trying to push me away for some reason."

Marinette then grips Shadow's hand gently, as her face begins to soften.

"I actually just want to help you, to repay you, but your pushing only makes it harder than it needs to be. You said that your trust wasn't so easily earned, but you trusted me when you let me cure that akuma…"

Suddenly, Shadow remembered, for at that moment, she started to resemble Maria again.

"… so why won't you trust me now?"

Marinette stood there as she held onto Shadow's hand, hoping that she could get him to trust her again.

"Well…" said Shadow, " _(sigh)_ It's not that. It's just… what I'm doing is too dangerous to allow anyone to assist. It's one thing to trust someone to help you deal with a supervillain. It's another to trust someone with somethi—"

Shadow stopped himself midsentence.

"'With' _what_?"

"… With information on something… this **big**."

Marinette knew that if the issue truly was this serious, then she needed to know more.

"You said something about the 'chaos emeralds'. Those jewels? Like the one Baker had?"

"More classified information. Listen Marinette, I know you just want protect your home, but believe me, _I'm_ doing the exact same thing. I'll handle my mission. _You_ handle protecting Paris."

Marinette watched as he turned to leave, a sigh of defeat escaping her lips; however, Shadow soon found that he couldn't leave just yet. There was something that he **needed** to tell her. He turned back around and faced her.

"Marinette?"

Marinette stared up into Shadow's crimson eyes.

"Yes?"

Shadow stepped closer to her, the two of them, mere inches apart. As Marinette stared into Shadow's eyes, _he_ looked into _hers_. Marinette suddenly felt her face warming up, as well as a familiar feeling in her heart and stomach, as if a kaleidoscope of butterflies was fluttering around in there. Finally, Shadow spoke what needed to be said.

"Can I have my hand back?"

Marinette's eyes widened as she then realized that she was still holding onto Shadow's hand.

"Oh-my! Sorry, I just…! My body sometimes has a mind of its own…! Well, actually, that's not entirely wrong. I mean, my body _does_ have a mind; mine. Um, not that I meant for this for this to happen! I just, didn't think that… Oh, no, I'm still talking, aren't I?!"

"You also still haven't given me back my hand yet." Said Shadow, with a less than amused look on his face.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean… uh… I didn't… uh! _(groan)_ …" With a look of utter defeat, she finally released Shadow's hand, and let him leave. "I'm sorry."

" _(sigh)_ It's fine."

No longer restrained, Shadow attempted to leave once again; however, he only managed to walk a few feet before having to reach for his own stomach again.

"[ _(groan)_ My stomach.]" Shadow groaned in English.

Marinette finally remembered her other reason for wanting to find him.

"Wait!" She ran up to him and once again, grabbed his arm, _this_ time, more gently. "At least let me get you something to eat."

"That isn't necessary." Once again, Shadow's stomach made its emptiness known. " _(groan)_ "

" _(giggle)_ From the sounds of you and your stomach, I'd say it **is**. Take this as me repaying you for saving my life again. Please."

Shadow looked at her, and the similarities between her and Maria made themselves known, so much that Marinette's face flashed into Maria's once again. Shadow slowly adverted his gaze, but saw no end to his starvation if he didn't get something to eat soon, and he didn't want to have to resort to stealing again.

" _(deep sigh)_ Very well. But only this once."

" _(gasp)_ That's great! Now come on, I know the perfect place to go for a hot meal."

As Marinette started lugging him off to some unknown location, Shadow started to have second thoughts about his decision to accept her offer, but his inhibitions soon faded once he had arrived, and were replaced with new inhibitions, for the location that Marinette had in mind was in fact her own home. He wanted to say something, but before he knew it, he was already seated at her family's dinner table, or at least the bar that separated the kitchen from the rest of their home, awaiting to be fed. Marinette had given Shadow a pair of sunglasses to wear so to cover up his red eyes. There was a slight chance that her parents hadn't seen his eyes before, or just thought that he was wearing contacts, which was why they didn't bring it up, but she didn't want to take any chances _this_ time. Soon Marinette's mother, Sabine, walked by and placed a plate of hot food before him. It smelled heavenly, but he felt unsure; being in someone's house, eating their food, he felt like a beggar.

"This really isn't necessary, Mrs. Cheng." Said Shadow.

"Oh, no worries." Said Sabine.

"Any friend of Marinette's is a friend of ours." Said Tom.

They seemed like a nice enough family, but Shadow still didn't feel all that comfortable.

"So tell us about yourself, Shadow." Said Sabine, placing her own dish down and sitting with her family, plus one.

"Yes, we would love to hear what your intentions are with our daughter." Tom half-joked.

"Dad." Marinette complained.

"It actually, wasn't even my intention to be here, but Marinette insisted." After Shadow had said that, his stomach made a loud grumble. " _Ah_! _(groan)_."

"Eat, Shadow, your starving." Marinette insisted.

Shadow slowly and hesitantly reached for his fork and picked it up. He stuck it into his food, raised it up to his mouth, and took a bite. He knew that the food was sure to be pleasant, but the fact that he hadn't eaten anything other than small portions of bread for almost three days made it all the more enjoyable. Before he knew what he was doing, he was digging in, desperate to silence his stomach, but also to indulge himself in the fine cuisine. However, it wasn't long until he finally took notice of his own actions. Shadow froze for a moment and looked up to see the Dupain-Chengs all staring at him. He swallowed, gently put his fork down, straightened up, and used his napkin to clean his face.

"Sorry about that. I was… **very** hungry."

"If you were so hungry, you should have gone home." Said Sabine as she ate her food.

"My home is… pretty far from here." Said Shadow trying not to give much away.

"Well, do you need to call your parents?" Asked Tom as _he_ ate _his_. "You can use our phone if you—"

"I don't have parents." Said Shadow as he continued eating in a more respectable manner.

Everyone in the apartment froze when they heard him say that.

"So, you live with other relatives?"

"I don't have a family…" Shadow stopped to take another bite, chew then swallow. "… just a job."

Shadow soon took notice that he was now the only one eating. Shadow answered their questions so casually; of course it helped that he didn't think about his old family too much as he was answering them.

"'Just a job'? What do you mean?" Asked Marinette.

"Um…" Shadow couldn't help but look around the room, but soon found himself trying the avoid the gazes from the other people in the room and continue eating. "I'm in… delivery service. My job is to deliver and retrieve… things."

"Shadow," Sabine said carefully, "are you an… orphan?"

 _This_ time, Shadow froze for a **different** reason, for that question **forced** him to think about his previous family.

"My family…" Shadow started. "… is dead."

The more he spoke, the more concerned everyone grew.

"'Dead'?" Asked Marinette.

"What happened?" Asked Tom.

"Tom!" Sabine silently warned her husband.

Shadow couldn't help but think back to that day.

"They were… taken from me… right before my eyes… I tried to save them… but I failed… I lost them… and my home… They're gone… because I wasn't strong… or fast enough…"

Shadow quickly pulled himself back to reality before having to think too hardly about it.

"Fortunately, the people who killed them should be dead by now." Shadow continued to eat more casually. "Don't worry, I'm not alone. I have colleagues over at where I work, which is where I now live."

Shadow's eyes shot open when he heard the sound of sniffling. He looked around the room and saw Tom looking at his meal with a saddened expression. He then saw Sabine wiping a few tears out of her eyes. Finally, he turned to see Marinette… crying; silently sobbing to be more precise, but he could definitely hear her sniffling.

"M-Marinette? Are you alright?" Asked Shadow.

"Hmm?" She responded before quickly wiping her eyes and trying her hardest to stop crying. "Oh, sorry. It's just. That was such a sad story."

Shadow eyes widened for a moment as he realized that he had probably said too much. So, he lowered his head, put his fork down, pushed his food away from him, departed from his seating place, and then stepped back.

"Shadow?" Asked Marinette.

She and her whole family were now looking at Shadow.

"Thank you for the wonderful meal, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. I won't forget your generous hospitality." Shadow said before he turned and began to leave.

"Shadow." Marinette stood up from her seat.

"Goodbye."

Shadow walked over to the front door, opened it, and walked out, but before he had the chance to close the door behind him, Marinette ran to it and grabbed ahold of it.

"Shadow, wait!"

Shadow turned around when he felt the door stop and heard Marinette's voice. He looked at her for a moment, but then turned away as he began to gently pull the door shut, being careful not to harm Marinette's hands in the process.

"I shouldn't have come here, Marinette. I've said too much. I should just leave."

Shadow continued to slowly close the door while Marinette tried her best to keep it open.

"Shadow, please don't."

Shadow turned around and the two of them found themselves looking into each other's eyes. The expression on Marinette's face reminded Shadow of Maria. Marinette didn't even notice the blush growing on her face as her mind tried to think of ways to keep Shadow from leaving, but nothing came to mind. She wasn't sure why she wanted him to stay. Perhaps it was because she knew that he had no place to stay… or perhaps… it was something… else.

Shadow didn't want to wait for her to relent, and he didn't want to seriously hurt her by closing the door on her fingers. So he simply released the doorknob, letting Marinette stumble back slightly, and continued to walk away. Marinette proceeded to follow him down the stairs.

"Shadow, wait! Where are you going?!" She called.

"I'm going through with my original plan. I'll find a shelter somewhere and stay the night there."

"Shadow, I'm sorry about… what happened up there, but—"

"It's not your fault. Me coming here, it was bound to happen, but I didn't mean to make you sad. It's better if I just leave."

Shadow soon made his way to the bakery, downstairs. He was about to walk to the front door, but was stopped by Marinette grabbing him by the hand.

"Shadow, **please**. Don't leave."

Shadow turned around to look at her, and _she_ looked up to _him_. Once again, they found themselves looking into each other's eyes.

"I want to help you." She said. "Please, let me help you."

Shadow turned to leave, but Marinette still held onto his hand.

"Please," said Shadow, "just let me go, Maria."

"'Maria'?"

It was at that moment that Shadow had realized his mistake, and his eyes widened as a result. He turned back around.

"Who is…" Marinette paused for a moment, but then remembered Shadow's photograph. "… Maria."

Though Marinette had only caught a glimpse of the photo, she remembered what it was of. It was of an old man with a long white moustache sitting next to a young girl with a blue dress, and Marinette was sure that she also had blonde hair.

"Sh-she is—" Shadow tried to say that Marinette shouldn't concern herself with the matter, but instead, _she_ spoke before Shadow could finish.

"The girl from the photo?"

Shadow's eyes widened as he remembered when Marinette looked at his treasured photo. It was becoming harder and harder to keep things from her.

"Were those people your family?"

"… Yes." Shadow relented.

"Then… they're…"

"They're gone… forever."

Marinette slowly shifted her gaze to the floor beside Shadow as her grip on his hand slightly loosened.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know."

"In all honesty, you weren't supposed to. But to be completely honest, I'm not supposed to even **be** here. I'm supposed to be… home."

"Where **is** that?"

Shadow was silent for a moment, but then spoke.

"… That's… classified."

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

Looking at her, he wasn't surprised to see a disappointed look in response to hearing his answer, but he was starting to find keeping these secrets from her to be… uncomfortable.

"Marinette?" He said, gaining her attention. "It's… far… **really** far."

"What do you mean?"

"I-I… I…" Shadow stopped himself at the last minute as it soon dawned on him what he was doing. "… I-it's… nothing."

Shadow looked at his hand, and then looked around to see if anyone was around to see him. He removed the sunglasses and handed them back to Marinette.

"Thank you for these." He said as she took them from his free hand. "Goodbye."

Marinette felt the hand that she was using to hold onto Shadow's suddenly grow warmer. She looked down and saw that Shadow's hand was glowing green. She quickly looked back up to make eye contact one last time.

"Chaos…"

"Wait!"

"Control."

 _ **VOIP**_

In a blinding flash, Shadow vanished. The flash had made Marinette flinch for a moment, but as soon as her sight was clear, she could clearly see that Shadow had disappeared. She looked around, but saw no trace of the dark haired teen other than the sunglasses that he had returned to her.

"I **thought** I should have said something," said Tikki, sticking her head out of Marinette's pocket, "but I didn't think it was good idea. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Tikki." Said Marinette. "It wasn't _your_ fault. I just wish I had done more to get him to stay."

"You seem to be really trying with Shadow. Even more than you would expect."

"I just… think he could really use a friend right now."

"Well, I don't think there's anyone better for that than you, Marinette."

Tikki's words made Marinette smile for a moment.

"Thanks, Tikki, but I think you just proved that **you** could do it."

Tikki giggled in response to Marinette's statement as she started walking back up the stairs.

* * *

That night, after dinner and a long while spent putting away her new materials, Marinette was busying herself with her cape. Unfortunately, while her body was currently working on her cape, her mind and heart were somewhere else entirely. It wasn't until she had accidently pricked her finger for the nth time that she was able to return to reality.

" _Ow_!"

"Marinette?" Said Tikki, rushing to her friend's aid.

"I'm fine, Tikki. I just got a little distracted for a moment."

"Are you still thinking about Shadow?"

" _(sigh)_ Yeah."

Marinette put her needle and thread down and arose from her seat.

"I think I need some air."

She then started making her way to her trapdoor.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I'm sure he's fine. He **has** proven that he's capable of taking care of himself and others."

"Yeah, he has, hasn't he?"

Once she had arrived at the trapdoor, she then proceeded to open it and walk outside. The sight of the city of Paris at night was now before her as she looked out from the metal fencing of her balcony.

"I just wish I knew for **sure** that he was alright."

" _(groan)_ "

"Wow, Tikki. You never struck me as the type to complain."

"Um, Marinette?" Said her kwami. "That wasn't me."

Marinette's eyes widened when she heard her kwami's statement.

" _(groan)_ " A second groan was heard.

Marinette turned around, trying to prepare herself for whatever was behind her. What she found was the last thing she was expecting. It was Shadow, asleep on her lawn chair.

"Um… Tikki?" Said Marinette.

"You see Shadow sleeping in your chair, too, right?" Asked Tikki.

"I can't believe he's here of all places. And sleeping. I mean… saying your leaving and then just showing up just to sleep on the lawn chair of the person you said that to? Who does that?!" Marinette's rant was interrupted by Tikki.

"Um, Marinette? Why don't we wake him up and ask him ourselves?"

"Good idea, Tikki. I think he deserves a piece of my mind—"

Marinette was considering it, this _was_ technically considered **trespassing** , but as she saw him sleeping, thinking about everything that had happened since she met him, she stopped as she began to have second thoughts.

"Actually, why don't we let him sleep for tonight. I _did_ originally _want_ him to stay."

Tikki was unsure about this, but as she saw Shadow sleeping on the chair, she soon agreed with Marinette.

"Alright. I guess it _would_ be rude to wake him up, in any case."

Marinette sat down before Shadow, looking at his slumbering face. She felt somewhat relieved to know that Shadow was well, as well as a little bit flattered that he had chosen to sleep on _her_ balcony of all places. She remembered their first talk and how he had asked about her balcony, so there was no question as to _how_ knew it was hers.

"Um, Marinette?" Said Tikki.

"Huh?!" Once again, Marinette was caught staring at her "guest".

"I think we should let him sleep in peace." Tikki whispered into Marinette's ear.

"Oh, right! Yeah we should let him—"

" _(groan)_ "

Marinette was interrupted by the sound of Shadow's groan. _This_ groan was different from the last two. It was strained, almost as if Shadow was struggling to get it out of his system. His face also looked strained. Shadow was tossing and turning in his sleep.

"No… _no_ …" He moaned in a strained manner, over and over again.

"Huh? Oh, no!" Said Marinette.

"Oh, dear! I think he's having a nightmare!" Said Tikki.

"Not like you… **nothing** like you…" He struggled to say.

Marinette hoped that he would calm down soon, but he only continued. He just kept struggling, tossing, and turning. From the looks of it, she theorized that he would be exhausted by the time he woke up in the morning, far more tired than when he fell asleep.

"We should probably let him sleep. Maybe the nightmare will go away before he wakes up."

Marinette wanted to trust her kwami, but she continued to silently worry.

" _A-ah_." _This_ time, Shadow had released a groan that was louder and far more strained than the last.

"Or not." Tikki said, under her breath.

It was at this point that Marinette was wishing for some way to help him. She racked her brain as she looked at him in his troubled, restless sleep, trying to think of some way to help. Soon, her eyes fell on his hand. It was clenching and releasing repeatedly. Unsure of what else to do, Marinette reached out and took Shadow's hand, holding it close to her.

"Shadow. It's alright." She said as she gently held his hand, softly rubbing the back with her palm.

As if by some miracle, Shadow began to calm down. Marinette felt relief fill her, until she felt his hand close on one of _hers_.

"M…M-Ma…" Hearing him struggle with his wording, Marinette was sure that next thing that she would hear would be "Maria", the name of girl he had mentioned before. "M-Marinette."

Marinette's eyes widened in shock, and she felt her face grow hot when she heard him say her name. Shadow soon appeared to be relaxing in his sleep. Marinette sighed and her shocked expression soon changed into a sincere smile.

"I think he's going to be fine now." She said to her kwami.

Tikki wasn't entirely certain what happened, but she had a pretty good idea. As Marinette arose from her spot and started going back inside, Tikki followed her with a smile. She flew up to Marinette's ear so that she could say something.

"Told you so." She said, referring to her previous statement of how Marinette would be the best choice to be the friend that Shadow needed.

Marinette simply giggled at her comment and then entered her house via the trapdoor, leaving Shadow alone to sleep. About six or seven seconds later, Marinette quickly but quietly returned to the balcony holding a blanket and pillow in her arms. She then placed the blanket and pillow on her wooden table, snuck her way over to Shadow's side, and began carefully tinkering with her lawn chair. She considered herself lucky that she didn't wake him when she almost dropped the head of the chair while attempting to lay it down on the balcony floor. She held her breath when she did this, but then calmed down when he seemed to only relax back into the chair.

Once the lawn chair was laid out in a way that Shadow could lay comfortably on it, she then walked over to the table, took the blanket and laid it gently onto Shadow's sleeping form, and then carefully lifted Shadow's head without waking him so that she could put the pillow beneath it. Once her work was done, she backed up and smiled at how cozy he looked.

"Goodnight, Shadow." She said to him before reentering her room.

* * *

Earlier that night, Shadow was on the roof of a nearby building, overlooking Marinette's home. He had an unpleasant feeling about how he had left earlier that day. It was so abrupt, but he felt as though that, even though it was for a short amount of time, he had already overstayed his welcome. However, his "talk" with Marinette was far from comforting. It was almost as though every time he would meet her, it would feel as though they were growing… closer. He couldn't make sense of this. Could her resemblance to Maria be playing a part in it? That was another thing; her resemblance, both physically and emotionally… well, _most_ of the time. Other times, she seemed to not resemble her at all. Despite this, he still felt that he should… talk to her… but he knew why he couldn't do that. Because he… Because _she_ … um…. Because… Because…

Actually, he couldn't _think_ of a reason why he didn't want tell her the importance of his mission anymore; because he **still** didn't trust her, perhaps? Actually, ever since his talk with her outside of her family's bakery, his trust in her had grown. Perhaps enough to ask her to **assist** him? He _was_ struggling to find that fifth emerald, after all, and seeing as how she **lived** in this city, and therefore, knew it better than _he_ did, perhaps enlisting in her assistance would be for the best. However, _that_ would have to wait until morning.

Shadow had already spent most of the evening trying to find someplace to stay; unfortunately, since he didn't know the city all that well, he mostly spent his time reading his map and running around keeping an eye out for anything that so much as _resembled_ a shelter. By nightfall, Shadow had eventually found a shelter; unfortunately, it was closed. He kept searching for a while longer until, to his annoyance, he eventually had somehow made his way back to Marinette's home. At this moment, Shadow had two options: (a) spend—probably most of—the night trying to find some place to sleep, or (b). After a second, he decided with option (b).

In a single bound, Shadow leapt from the rooftop that he was standing on, to Marinette's balcony. From there, all that was left to do was check to see if anyone could see him, lie down on the lawn chair, and then relax into a slumbering state; however, as soon as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, he opened them to find that he was once again in complete and utter darkness.

"Welcome back, Shadow." Said the familiar disembodied voice.

"Black Doom." He called it.

"Making more… ' **friends** ', I see."

"I don't care for what you have to say."

"Look at you. You were once my **greatest** creation. I even once thought of you as a son to me. A successor to my rule."

"Not sorry to disappoint."

"Now you are a murderer of your own kind."

"I already told you. You are not my kind, and the only murderers were _you_. You're monsters, every single last one of you. I have **no** regrets for annihilating that disgusting comet and every last Black Arm on it!"

"It was bad enough that you had to side with those **humans** , but now you take the _**form**_ of one?"

"To be honest, I could be a _worm_ for all I care, and it would **still** be better than being a monster like **you**!"

His voice echoed through the darkness, and for a moment, everything was silent, but then… Shadow could hear the sound of laughter. It was loud and haughty, but also monstrous.

"'A monster like me' he says." Said the voice of Black Doom. "Little do you know that you're already well on your way to being just that and **more**."

"What are you talking about?"

"Turn around, Shadow." The voice that responded to him was **not** Black Doom, but another familiar voice; the voice from the last time he found himself in this darkness.

Shadow did _indeed_ turn around and came face to face with _**him**_ again, the "Evil Shadow".

"Hello again." It said.

" **You**." Shadow said darkly.

"How much longer are you going to fight it, Shadow?"

"Fight what?!"

"Your growing darkness. Your **true** self."

The Evil Shadow spread his arms out and all of a sudden, from behind him, a kaleidoscope of black butterflies emerged and began swarming all around Shadow.

"No!" Shadow tried to swat them away, but they latched onto him and didn't let go. " _N-nooooo!_ "

The butterflies just kept swarming around him. He soon felt himself sinking into the darkness as the butterflies began forcing him down.

" _Ah-Ahhhh_!" Shadow shouted.

All he could do was struggle to get away, but his efforts proved to be fruitless.

"Don't fight it, Shadow. There's no use fighting it. Soon you'll be just like me."

"No! I'm not like you! I'm **nothing** like you! I'll never be you!"

No matter what Shadow tried, he couldn't escape the darkness that was consuming him. As for the butterflies, they just kept pushing him down, and more of them just kept coming. Shadow soon found that he was up to his neck in butterflies.

" _Ah—Ahhhh!_ "

As the butterflies kept him down, all that Shadow could do was scream out into the darkness.

"It's over Shadow."

Just when Shadow was about to be completely buried, a bright light shone down on him from above.

"What's this?!" Exclaimed the voice of Black Doom.

From this bright light, a hand, a _girl's_ hand, came and reached out for Shadow. The light appeared to be like poison, or rather an _**antidote**_ to the black butterflies, turning them all white, and any more who so much as touched this light.

"What's going on here?!" Exclaimed the Evil Shadow.

"Shadow…" Said a voice from the light.

"That voice!" Exclaimed Shadow.

"It can't be!" Exclaimed the Evil Shadow.

Shadow soon felt himself being lifted up out of the darkness by the kaleidoscope of white butterflies. They were carrying him toward the girl's hand. Shadow reached for it.

"This isn't over, Shadow!" Said the voice of Black Doom.

"She can't stop what's to come, and neither can **you**!" Shouted the Evil Shadow from below.

Once Shadow was close enough, he felt the girl's hand, followed by a second hand emerging from the light, close on his own hand. The grasp was soft and gentle, but with the aid of the butterflies, it was able to lift Shadow into the light with ease.

"It's alright." The voice said.

The girl's voice was soft, Shadow dared to think that it was almost… angel-like. Shadow was blinded by the light, but he was barely able to make out a slender shape before him. It was the hand's owner.

"Can it be? M…M-Ma…" Shadow was about to say "Maria", but then the figure pulled him closer, allowing him to see the face of who was right before him. "M-Marinette."

In retrospect, it actually made sense. The butterflies, the dark and the light; it all linked back to **her** , but what could this mean? Shadow wanted to ponder it, but he found it hard to concentrate as he was staring into her blue-bell eyes. But **why** did he feel this way, what was the… the purpose…? The… the… need to… be here… with… with… As everything faded, Shadow felt his eyes slowly open. What he saw was a light coming from the trapdoor leading to Marinette's bedroom, but that wasn't all that he saw. He also saw Marinette and Tikki entering her bedroom.

Shadow soon realized that he was now awake, but what about Marinette? Why did she just leave without questioning Shadow for trespassing and sleeping on her balcony? She **had** to have seen him when turning to go back into her room, at least, shouldn't she? And what was the reason for that dream of his? Shadow didn't have enough time to figure it out for he soon heard the sound of Marinette coming from her room. Acting fast, he quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be a sleep.

As Marinette came out of the trapdoor, Shadow barely opened his eye. It was just enough to see what she was doing. He saw her put something on the wooden table in front of him and turn around. He closed his eyes completely when he saw her coming his way. He soon felt the lawn chair that he was sleeping on moving a bit. A few seconds later, he felt his upper half moving down along with the chair. A second later, he was taken completely by surprise when he felt himself plummeting, only to stop a half-second later before the head of the chair hit the floor. It took quite a bit of willpower not to respond to this. He grunted when she caught him, but he tried act like he was still asleep by trying to relax back into the chair.

The sound of a small tap, followed by Marinette walking away signaled to Shadow that she was done, but when he barely opened his eyes again, he saw her in front of him. When she turned around, he shut his eyes again. He then felt something soft and warm drape around him, followed by Marinette's hand reaching under his head. Shadow let her lift his head up and put it back down, but when she did so, he suddenly felt his ear press against something soft before the rest of his head followed. Shadow then heard Marinette stepping away from him.

"Goodnight, Shadow." He heard her say.

The sound of her walking around him, followed by the sound of her trapdoor opening and then closing told Shadow that she was probably gone. He opened his eyes a little and then all the way. He looked around and saw that she was indeed gone. Looking down, Shadow saw that Marinette had set up her lawn chair like a make-shift bed, complete with a pillow and a blanket. It was far more comfortable than before, not that it wasn't already comfortable enough for him. Shadow looked between the bed and trapdoor, thinking of Marinette. After he had so rudely left her, she was still so kind enough to not only allow him to sleep here, but also make it more comfortable for him _as_ he slept. Shadow looked at where she stood before she entered her room, and smiled.

"Goodnight, Marinette." He said before **really** relaxing back into his bed and falling back asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Oh, man! This is so late! I am so sorry! I was having some technical difficulties.

* * *

Shadow awoke the following morning to the smell of something delicious. He opened his eyes and turned his head to where the smell was coming from. Before his eyes was a plate of steaming, delicious smelling food with a fork set beside it on said plate.

"Good morning." Shadow's eyes opened all the way when he heard Marinette's voice.

He looked up to see her face smiling at him as she held the plate of food. Shadow then arose from his make-shift bed and stretched his limbs, followed by a yawn.

"Good morning, Marinette." He responded to her. "I'm sorry for trespassing."

"Well… I don't think it's really considered _trespassing_ when I technically **invited** you to stay."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a round, red creature appeared.

"Marinette was also kind enough to help you sleep more comfortably by laying her chair down and giving you those." She said, gesturing to the pillow and blanket. "Hello. I'm Tikki. We haven't officially met yet."

"Shadow." Shadow greeted Tikki. "I remember seeing you after I saved Marinette from that truck. You were poking out of her bag."

"Oh! Well, to be honest, I'm not really supposed to be seen by anyone other than Marinette. But since you already know her secret identity, I guess you can be an exception."

"I brought you breakfast." Marinette raised up the plate of food.

Shadow repositioned himself, took the plate of food, placed it onto his lap, took the fork, and began eating. Since he had already been treated to dinner, when he started eating his breakfast, he did so in a more respectful manner than when he started eating the meal from the previous night.

"How is it?"

Shadow's only response to Marinette's question was a grunt-like mumble. Even though his face didn't show it, Marinette was somehow able to tell that he was grateful to her for the food. She smiled at this.

"Do your parents know I'm here?" Shadow asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Oh! Um… well, not really. Explaining this to them _might_ be a little difficult."

"Hm, I suppose you're right." Shadow ate another bite, but then stopped eating after he swallowed it. "If they don't know that I'm here, does that mean this food was originally _yours_?"

"Oh! It's fine, really! I'll just say it was so good that I want more. No need to worry."

"Um, Marinette, what about school?" Asked Tikki.

"I'm sure I'll make it. I have plenty of time."

"That's what you said last time before you found out that we were already late."

"That was _also_ when you almost got hit by that truck, wasn't it? You seemed to be in a real hurry for someone who lives only a crosswalk away from the school." Shadow gestured to the building that was a short distance away from them.

"Ye-ah. I don't exactly have the best luck."

Shadow found this to be ironic considering her alter ego's theme was considered a symbol of **good** luck. Shadow once again looked at "his" food. He wouldn't say that he was **full** , per say, but he didn't like the idea of taking food from someone who had already shown him such kindness.

" _(sigh)_ Here. I'm done. You can have the rest." Shadow said as he raised his plate, offering it to Marinette.

"Oh, no." She said sternly. "You need this food more than I do."

"No I don't. Besides, you've already done so much for me. It wouldn't be right for me to start taking things from you. Take it!"

"No. _You_ finish it!"

"I'll be fine, Marinette! Take it!"

"You've said that so many times already, and all of those times you were wrong! Finish it!"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?! Take it!"

"You **need** to eat! Finish it!"

" **Take** it!"

" **Finish** it!"

As the two of them continued their back and forth, all that Tikki could think to do at this moment was face-palm, or in _her_ case, face-tendril.

"Marinette! Are you finished, yet?! You're going to be late **again**!" They all heard Mrs. Cheng as she said that.

That warning alone was enough to stop the arguing.

"Oh, no! It's already time?!" Marinette straightened up in surprise as she said that.

Marinette looked down for a moment and noticed that the plate of food was in her hands. With an unamused look, she took the fork, scooping up as much food as it could hold, and forced it into Shadow's mouth. She released the fork, leaving it held between Shadow's lips and teeth, and then gave him the plate once again.

"C'mon, Tikki! We gotta hurry!" As Tikki flew into Marinette's bag, Marinette then quickly opened her trapdoor and hurried back into her room.

Shadow was left in his force-fed position wearing his _own_ unamused look.

"Roloo-oo-oo…" Shadow turned his head to see a single pigeon sitting between two potted plants and it appeared to be staring at him.

Shadow pulled the fork out of his mouth, shallowed the food that Marinette had stuffed inside, and gave the bird a menacing snarl.

" _Grrr_!"

That alone was enough to scare the little bird away. Once that had been taken care of, Shadow looked at his plate, gave a sigh, and then continued eating. A moment later, his eating was interrupted by the sound of Marinette…

"W-whoa—oof!"

… tripping and falling over while rushing out of the bakery.

"Ow."

Shadow got up, put the food down onto the wooden table, and then leaned over the railing. Once he saw Marinette picking herself back up, Shadow went over to get his backpack, and began looking around. Seeing nobody other than Marinette and Tikki in plain sight, he then proceeded to lift himself over the railing.

"Hurry, Marinette! You only have a three minutes until class starts!" Tikki warned her partner/friend.

"I know, Tikki, but— _Aah_!" Marinette stopped mid-sentence when she looked up and saw the shape of a person falling.

Shadow had leapt over the railing and off of the balcony, fully intending to land on the ground below. Marinette flinched when she saw him too close to the ground, but rather than a grand impact, Shadow's landing was barely audible. Opening her eyes, she was relieved to see Shadow standing before her.

" _(phew)_ Sorry, I forgot you don't _need_ to transform to—" Marinette cut herself off and immediately got to her feet when she finally realized something. "Wait a minute. What are you **thinking**?! What if someone **sees** you?!"

"I checked around before jumping." Shadow responded. "There's no one around to see, and if there _was_ , I could just teleport down. Speaking of which…"

"Eep!" Marinette was taken completely off guard when Shadow grabbed ahold of her waist.

"Huh?" Shadow then grabbed Tikki and held the two of them close.

"Chaos Control!" He said.

 _ **VOIP**_

* * *

In a flash of green light, Shadow, Marinette, and Tikki had all vanished and then reappeared underneath the staircase inside of the school. Shadow looked around and saw no one in sight.

"The coast is clear." He said to the girls.

Marinette poked her head out from behind the staircase, followed by Tikki.

"Seriously?!" She whispered. "You shouldn't be using your powers in public so much!"

"Do you really want to scold me, or do you want to get to class before the bell?"

"He has a point, Marinette." Said Tikki. "You can still make it if you run."

Tikki then disappeared into Marinette's bag. Taking her kwami's advice, Marinette began running up the stairs. She stopped once to say something to Shadow.

"We'll discuss this later!" She warned him.

" _Hmph_." Was his only response before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Shadow stopped when he heard Marinette's voice, and turned around to see her smiling at him. "Thanks."

Shadow's eyes widened when her smiling face flashed into Maria's again, and then flashed back just in time for her to reach into her bag.

"Here, put these on." Marinette tossed Shadow the same pair of sunglasses from last night. "Bye."

With that, she continued running to class. Shadow stood there for a moment, watching her until she finally disappeared behind a door. Shadow then looked at the glasses in his hands and sighed again. Though he didn't smile, he _did_ say one last thing as he put them on before leaving.

"You're welcome."

* * *

Marinette had just made it in time for the bell.

"Good morning, class. Marinette, I see you're actually on **time** , today." Said her teacher. "Good job."

"Yeah, girl." Whispered Alya as their teacher began with their lesson for the day. "You actually made it on time, for once."

"I… had some help." She said, but then started thinking about that last word she said.

Even though he said that he didn't want it, if the situation was as dire as he made it sound, then Shadow may _**need**_ help with those chaos emeralds.

"Actually, Alya, we need to talk after class." Because she figured that they were **all** listening to her, which they were, Marinette leaned over her desk to whisper to the two boys who sat in front of her. "All of us."

Adrien and Nino exchanged odd glances as she said this, and then turned to Alya, but she only shrugged.

* * *

Once Shadow was outside, he looked around again. There were a few bystanders walking around on the sidewalks and the occasional cars that drove by. As a means to avoid being seen, Shadow leapt into the bushes. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his chaos emerald.

"Chaos Control."

Shadow activated his chaos sensing ability and was surprised by what he sensed. The emerald was nearby, but he couldn't specify where.

" _Hmph_ , alright then. I guess I'll just have to start searching."

Then, all of a sudden, a man's voice was heard from behind him.

"Hey! Young man, what are you doing out here?!"

Shadow quickly put away his emerald and turned around to see who was behind him.

"Oh, no."

It was a police officer, the very **same** that awoke him in the park last time. He approached Shadow.

"Didn't you hear the bell? Class just started."

"Yeah, I… uh… lost a pencil." He said to the officer. "I found it, so I'll just be going to class now."

"Uh-huh, sure you were. You can't fool me. I remember you from the park, and I also saw you walking _out_ of this building. You're trying to play hooky, aren't you? Well not while _I'm_ on patrol." The officer grabbed the back of Shadow's backpack and began directing him into the building. "We'll just see what your principal has to say."

Shadow face-palmed at his rotten luck. As the officer led Shadow to the principal's office, Shadow was currently trying to think of a way out of his predicament. He couldn't teleport away with this guy eyeing him the entire time, and he couldn't fight-or-flight his way out of this because both scenarios would possibly lead to his face being on either wanted or missing posters that would be placed all over the city, which would make his search for the chaos emeralds all the more difficult. His best bet would be to just let the officer take him to the principal's office and hope that he'd leave afterwards. Before he knew it, they had arrived at the office. The officer opened the door, thus revealing the room's interior.

"Ah, Officer Roger." Said the only person who was in the room. "What brings you here? And who is this?"

"Mr. Damocles, I found this young man trying to play hooky." Said the officer.

"Well, I can assure you, he's not one of _my_ students. In fact, I can safely say I've **never** seen this young man before."

"Really? Because he was just telling me that he was on his way to class." Officer Roger and Mr. Damocles started giving Shadow looks of suspicion.

"That's because…" Shadow began, but he seemed to be winging it at this point. "I'm… **new**. I'm a… foreign exchange student."

"'Foreign exchange'?" Questioned the principal in surprise. "I was not informed of any foreign exchange students."

Shadow was feeling a little unsure at this point. He was worried that he would **have** to run, which was quite undesirable. He started to wish that he had put his hoodie on when was still on Marinette's balcony.

"But this _is_ a new development for our school. We've never _had_ a foreign exchange student before. I must've missed the memo." Shadow felt relief fill him as he heard this.

"If that's true, then why were you leaving?" Asked Officer Roger.

"I'm a teenager," said Shadow, remembering his appearance, "and it's my first day at a new school in another wo—country. What would you expect?"

"Alright, fair point."

"Well, in any case," said Mr. Damocles, "welcome Mr… uh."

"Shadow." He introduced himself. "My name is Shadow… Robotnik."

"Uh… 'Shadow Robotnik'?"

"It's quite common in…" Shadow tried to think back to the world map of his atlas, trying to remember a name from one of the countries'. "Jap-án."

"Ah, 'Japan'."

"Right, what you just said."

"Well, we're happy to have you here, Shadow." Mr. Damocles then turned his attention to Officer Roger. "Thank you, officer. I'll handle it from here."

"Well, alright," Officer Roger directed his attention to Shadow to give him one final warning, "but remember, stay out of trouble, and don't let me catch you trying to sneak out of school again, either."

With that, Officer Roger left through the door behind Shadow.

"Now, how long are will you be staying with us for?"

"I… am unsure, but I think… a week, maybe?" Shadow answered the school principal.

"Alright, and what are the names of your parents. I'll also need their phone numbers and your family's place of residence."

Shadow was unsure what to do at this point, but then remembered something.

"Actually, I alone have currently taken residence at the Dupain-Cheng's bakery. I'll be staying with _them_ for the time being."

"Ah, Marinette's family. Well, I'll be sure to call them later to get the full details."

"Yes sir."

" _I just have to remember to_ give _them the full details before then._ " Shadow thought.

"Now, let me just fill out your schedule." Said the principal.

Soon everything was taken care of; well, almost everything, since Shadow had no records to prove that he even **existed** in this world. Fortunately, Mr. Damocles just passed this off as a mistake and something to fix later on. Shadow figured that he would have to take care of _that_ himself. A secret agent can't exactly go undercover as a new student without false school records.

"Oh, one more thing, you'll have to take those off before class." Mr. Damocles pointed to Shadow's sunglasses and then his fingerless gloves.

After a second to think, Shadow thought up a cover story.

"Actually, these are prescription sunglasses. I forgot my contacts at the bakery."

"Very well, I'll write you a note this **one** time, but remember to bring your contacts tomorrow. And you have to at _least_ take off those gloves. You may only be staying here for a week, but you'll still have to follow the rules."

"Y-yes, sir."

Shadow rarely ever removed his clothes when he was still a hedgehog, but this was just his gloves, his _**new**_ gloves to be exact. Still, he was reluctant to remove them. Regardless, he did so. The straps were just in front of his inhibitor rings, so he didn't have to worry about that. Once everything was filled out, Shadow took his note and class schedule and left the office.

"And remember, if you need anything at all, my door is always open. Uh, figuratively speaking, that is. Please close the door on your way out."

Shadow did just that. As he made his way to class, he face-palmed again.

"Perfect, now I'm stuck here for a week."

" _I can't leave._ " Shadow thought." _The principal will probably look into it and call the police. I definitely don't need any more distractions. At least I'll be free to scope out this school and find that emerald in my free time… **after** I take care of my 'records', of course._ "

Shadow soon came to a door with a number above it that corresponded with the number on his schedule and paused for a moment in surprise mixed with a bit of worry.

"Wait a minute!" He rechecked his schedule to confirmed what he was seeing and then face-palmed once more in response to this latest development. "This is the door to Marinette's class! I can't believe this! It's as if something _wants_ us to constantly run into each other!"

Shadow then stopped himself, took a moment to calm down with a few deep breaths, and then sighed.

" _Well, it's not like there's any simple way out of it. Guess I don't really have much of a choice._ " He thought.

"Well, here we go."

Shadow opened the door.

"Hi, I'm the new student." He said to the teacher, who eyed him curiously.

"'New student'?"

"Here." Shadow held up the note that the principal had given him.

She took the note and read it.

"Ah, a foreign exchange student." Her face signified that she now understood the situation. "Welcome. My name is Ms. Bustier, and I'll be your teacher. Please come in."

"Thank you."

Shadow entered the room and looked at his new classmates indifferently; **two** of which, who were sitting in the front row, he recognized. They were the same girls from when he first met Marinette and her boyfriend's superhero personas, Ladybug and Chat Noir. The blonde haired one looked at him with a sultry gaze while the other seemed to only swoon her head into a resting position on her fist while trying to hold up a compact mirror in her other hand. Most of the girls seemed to look at him with charmed smiles, but **one** girl in particular made him stop for a moment. Marinette was staring at him in surprise. She wasn't expecting this, but to be honest, neither was _he_. He adverted his eyes quickly so to not seem like he was staring at her.

"Class, as you can see, we have a new student. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

Shadow didn't really want to, but the sooner he got through with _this_ , the sooner he could get through this _class_ and then get back to searching for the emerald.

"Fine"

Shadow walked until he was in front of the right side of the teacher's desk, and then faced the class.

"My name is Shadow. I'm from Japan. And that's it." He said passively.

"Teh, what kind of name is 'Shadow'?" Said a boy wearing a red sleeveless hoodie who was sitting in the second row from the back. "Sounds made-up to me."

"Actually, there _**are**_ individuals who choose to name their children peculiar names, such as 'Pompei', similar to the city, and 'Neil', similar to the river. Though I must admit, someone naming their kid ' _Shadow_ ' does sound like a stretch." Said a boy wearing glasses and suspenders who was sitting beside the boy in red.

Shadow didn't think much of their comments. He merely sneered at the two of them.

"Now Kim, that's enough." Said the teacher, Ms. Bustier, before directing her attention to Shadow. "Why don't you take a seat next to Nathaniel?"

She pointed to the back row. Following her finger, Shadow saw a boy with long red hair, who appeared to have been drawing something before the teacher said his name and caught his attention. Shadow said not a word as he made his way to his seat. He _did_ , however, chance a sideways glance to see if Marinette was still staring at him. She was, as was her friend, whom Shadow recognized as the girl who had previously tried to interview him. The glance only lasted for a split-second before he looked away.

Alya leaned close to Marinette so that she could whisper something into her ear, but she soon realized that her best friend wasn't even paying attention to her. Marinette was staring at Shadow. Alya then looked at Adrien and noticed that he was staring at Marinette staring at the new student before noticing that Alya had turned around. When he _did_ , he looked at her half-expectantly, half-worryingly. Alya only shrugged for she wasn't sure what to make of this. Shadow had made his way to his seat and sat down beside the boy.

"Ms. Bustier," called the boy in glasses while raising his hand up, "aren't sunglasses against the school dress code?"

"My glasses are prescription." Said Shadow. "I forgot my contacts at home."

"I'm allowing it for today, Max," said Ms. Bustier "but tomorrow, you'll have to bring your contacts, Shadow."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now, then class." Ms. Bustier said as she continued her lesson.

Marinette soon stopped staring at him and redirected her attention to the teacher as Shadow tried to focus on the (what he considered 'pointless') lesson. Despite the stranger sitting beside him, Nathaniel decided to attempt at making a new friend.

"Hi, I'm Nathaniel." He greeted the dark haired teen holding out his hand.

"I know. She mentioned it." Shadow briefly pointed to the teacher.

"Um, right." Nathaniel withdrew his hand.

As the lesson went on, Shadow soon noticed that the class seemed to be writing down notes on tablets.

"Hmm _… efficient._ " He thought before noticing that he had nothing to write on, let alone write _with_.

"Hey, Nathaniel," Shadow said, gaining the attention of the boy next to him, "do you have a pencil and some paper I can borrow?"

Nathaniel looked at him curiously, finding it odd that even though Shadow carried a backpack with him, he didn't seem to have any pens _or_ pencils.

"Um, sure." Nathaniel reached into his backpack, pulled out a pencil and a few sheets of paper, and handed them to Shadow. "Here."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

With that, Shadow began writing down anything that sounded important. He was unsure of how long he may be stuck here, but he **hoped** it would only be for a week. But even so, an undercover agent always maintains cover with no "cracks in the armor". So, even though he felt that it would serve no serious purpose in the long run, he continued to take notes on the lesson.

* * *

Class had ended and everyone was leaving the class room.

"See ya." Nathaniel said to Shadow as he left.

"Mm-hmm." Was all that Shadow said as he carefully put his pencil, notes, and leftover blank sheets of paper into his backpack between the wall and his hoodie.

Shadow grunted disapprovingly, making a mental note to get more supplies for school. Once Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka left, Adrien, Nino, Alya, Marinette, and Shadow were the last ones in the class room. Adrien, Nino, and Alya were already out the door, but Marinette was behind them, still in classroom.

"Okay, girl," Alya said to Marinette, "you wanted to talk—"

"Yeah, hold that thought, Alya." Said Marinette before she closed the door in front of her.

The three of them were speechless as they saw this. Once Shadow had finished, he looked down the aisle between the desks and saw Marinette with her arms crossed, giving him a look that was **so** disapproved, if looks _could_ kill, Shadow would probably feel it through his almost bulletproof skin. She marched up the aisle, straight toward him, her eyes locked onto his being. As soon as she was close enough, she leaned in so that she would be in his face. Though _her_ leaning _in_ forced _him_ to lean _back_ , Shadow's facial expression remained neutral. Once Marinette had stopped leaning forward, Shadow waited a moment before speaking.

"Something you want to say?"

"What are you doing here?!" She quietly exclaimed.

"I'm not exactly here by choice. A policeman found me and questioned why I was leaving school. I couldn't run away, because he would probably hunt me down. And I couldn't fight him for that same reason. My best bet was to pretend to be a student, but he decided to escort me to the principal, which only made things even _more_ complicated. In order to avoid having either of them call child protective services, I managed to convince the principal that I was a foreign exchange student from Japan a part of some exchange program. Now my only problem is that I have to remain undercover as a high school student for at least a week."

"But **why** were you still here, anyway? Why didn't you just teleport away?"

"Because, I—uh…" Shadow paused for a moment. "Because I… didn't… uh…"

Marinette's eyes widened in realization and surprise.

"You didn't think to just teleport away?!"

"I was…! My mind was… elsewhere." Shadow adjusted his glasses for "no apparent reason". "But even if I did leave, it wouldn't make a difference other than me possibly not being a 'real' student. I'd only end up coming back here anyway."

"Why?" Marinette asked curiously but with hints of suspicion.

"It's—"

"And don't give the whole 'It's classified' excuse! I want a real answer right **now**!"

Shadow stood there for a moment but then remembered how he was contemplating this last night. For whatever reason, his search for the chaos emeralds always seemed lead him back to Marinette, especially when he actually managed to close in on one. He also remembered how his latest search for the fifth emerald proved to be more problematic than his past searches for the first three, probably just as troublesome as his search for the fourth, in his opinion. Though he normally hated to admit it, he **needed** help. He needed **_her_ ** help.

" _(sigh)_ Alright."

Marinette's eyes widened and she took a step back.

"What?!" She questioned.

"I've thought it over. I think I can trust you with… the truth. And the truth is… there's probably a chaos emerald in the school."

"A 'chaos emerald'?!" Exclaimed Tikki quietly as she popped her head out of Marinette's bag.

"Yes. I don't have time to explain now, so meet me after school, and I'll tell you… I'll tell you **everything**."

"Wait, you mean…?!"

"Yes. But first, I have to take care something."

Shadow grabbed his bag and began walking to the door, but as soon as he was right next to Marinette, he looked past her and saw some students who had poked their heads in through the door. They appeared to have been staring at the two of them.

"Guys?!" Marinette exclaimed when she saw the heads of her friends poking around the door.

Shadow remembered them.

"We'll discuss this later." Said Shadow.

He then continued exiting, ignoring the others' very existences, and left the room, barely noticing the dirty look Adrien was giving him. Jealousy obviously mixed with a dash of overprotection. Once he was gone, they all turned and looked back at Marinette expectantly.

"It looks like you have a **lot** to talk about." Said Alya.

"Yes, I do. But _he_ has more to tell."

* * *

The school day continued like normal. Marinette, and her friends ignored Shadow's existence as _he_ did with _theirs_. Whenever Shadow needed it for something, he would ask for more paper. During his free time, Shadow had snuck off to the principal's office whenever Mr. Damocles was out. Shadow used the principal's computer to hack into the system and forge fake online documents to aid him in his cover as a foreign exchange student. Once _this_ was accomplished, he would spend every chance he had searching for the chaos emerald; unfortunately, he found nothing. Soon the time came when the final bell would signify the end of the school day.

" _I don't understand._ " Shadow thought after leaving his class. " _I_ _ **know**_ _that it's here somewhere, but I just can't seem to find it. Where could it be?_ "

"Shadow." Shadow's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the one he was expecting.

"I guess it's time then." He said before turning around.

Shadow was fully prepared to share with Marinette his "classified information". He was ready to put his full trust in her, hoping that it would only make things easier, but he wasn't prepared for what he saw **after** he turned around to face her. His eyes widened when he saw Marinette's friends standing behind her.

"Why are _they_ here?!" He asked.

"You said you would tell us everything." Marinette responded.

"I said I would tell _**you**_ everything. I didn't say anything about _them_."

"Hey! Rude!" Said Alya.

"Quiet."

"Shadow," said Marinette, "whatever you have to tell me, you can tell _them_ , too."

"I said I trusted _you_ , Marinette, not your friends."

"And what gives _you_ the right to decide who and who _not_ to tell stuff to?" Said Adrien. "The way _I_ see it, we have just as much a right to know what's going on as Marinette does."

"The only reason I'm **letting** Marinette in on this is because she's proven herself to be useful and trustworthy. Or at least I _**thought**_ so, but now she's proving to be more trouble than she's worth!"

Realizing that he had just shouted that, he looked around to see that several students were staring at them all. He also realized that he was getting worked up again. _First_ , Shadow took a moment to calm himself down. _Second_ , he took Marinette by the wrist and started leading her off to the side. Adrien reacted as soon as he saw this by grabbing ahold of the hand on Marinette's _opposite_ side.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He exclaimed.

"Stay out of this." Said Shadow, menacingly while still trying his best to maintain a level head.

"Let her go, or **else**." Warned Adrien.

"Adrien, let me go." Said Marinette.

"But—!"

"Please, let me handle this."

"I suggest you listen to your girlfriend." Warned Shadow as he pulled her away, managing to pull her free of Adrien's grasp in the process.

"I am, you jerk!" _This_ time, Adrien had grabbed ahold of Marinette's _**arm**_ and pulled it so roughly that it actually hurt her.

" _Ah_! Adrien!" That was the final warning.

Marinette pulled her arm free of Shadow's grasp, which was simple considering he was more gently holding it at this point rather than firmly grasping it. She then grabbed Adrien's hand and pried it off her arm.

"I'm sorry!" Adrien instantly apologized. "I was only trying to—"

"I said let me handle this..." Marinette took her _own_ moment to calm down. "… please."

Adrien was confused by this, but didn't question her further.

"Alright." He said as she released _his_ hand.

"Thank you." After giving him a kiss on the cheek, she took a hold of Shadow's arm and led him to a private corner. "Let's talk."

"Right." Said Shadow.

Once they were at the corner, the two of them began their conversation.

"How much do they know?" Shadow began.

"I only told my friend, Alya, that I met you," Shadow leaned in close for he knew by her expression that she wasn't telling him the **whole** truth, "and that you and Dark Chaos were the same person."

"What?!" He silently exclaimed.

"I didn't tell her about our talk! I swear! Or about anything else you told me; although, that's not really much."

Shadow leaned in close again.

"Shadow, I **promised** you I wouldn't say anything about our talk. And when I promise something, I **never** go back on it. Please, you have to believe me."

Part of Shadow told him _not_ to believe her, while another part told him _to_ believer her. He wasn't sure if it was her resemblance to Maria, some unseen force, or what, but he decided to drop the matter and take her word.

" _(sigh)_ **Fine** , but remember what I said about those who break my trust."

"I haven't forgotten, and you _**can**_ trust me."

" _I'm hoping you're right._ " He thought to himself.

"But I still think my friends have a right to know."

"Give me **one** good reason why I should trust them with this information."

"Because _I_ trust **all** of them with my secret identity and life. **That's** why."

Shadow thought for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea. In all honesty, it didn't **seem** like one.

"Do _those_ two have superpowers? I'm willing to bet that your boyfriend is that cat themed hero from before."

"He is, but _they_ don't."

That only made the already-bad-enough-sounding idea seem like an even **worse** idea.

"They have no powers, and you **still** want them in on this?"

"It doesn't matter if they have powers or not. I trust them with my life."

Shadow was reminded of Mobius. The G.U.N. soldiers were all just normal humans with no powers whatsoever, but there **were** those among them whom Shadow would trust with _his_ life; and so, Shadow came to a decision.

"If you really trust them **that** much, then I too will trust them… for now."

Marinette smiled at this.

"Thank you."

Marinette was about to head over to her friends when Shadow stopped her.

"Just one more thing. The principal asked me for my parents' names, numbers, and where we were staying, so instead, I... told him that I alone was staying with you and _your_ family."

Marinette was frozen when she heard this, staring wide-eyed at Shadow. Expecting to get another angry rant, Shadow was surprised to hear her response.

"I'll be… sure to tell them that you're staying." As she said this, her facial expression appeared to be stuck in perpetual surprise.

Shadow stood there for a moment.

"That's it? You're just going to agree with it just like that?"

Marinette's surprised expression had then turned into an unsure smile.

"Well, I don't like the thought of you living on the streets, so I'll talk to my parents. I'm sure they'd **love** to take you in for a week."

"Um… thanks, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see what your parents think."

"Yeah, I guess so."

" _(ahem)_ We should probably talk to your friends now."

"Oh, right! Um… Let's go!" Marinette sounded as though she was trying **too** hard to sound confident.

The two of them soon rejoined the group.

"So, what did tall, dark, and jerky say?"

"Alya!" Exclaimed Marinette.

"It's fine, Marinette, I'm willing to ignore that comment." Said Shadow.

" _It wouldn't be the_ first _time someone called me that._ " He thought, remembering all of the other times someone had called him a "jerk", Marinette included.

"Regardless, I have decided to reveal everything you want to know to you. **All** of you."

Adrien, Nino, and Alya were all surprised to hear this, their faces were proof of that much.

"You mean…?"

"Yes, but we need to talk someplace private."

"My man, Adrien's place one of the most secure places in all of Paris. We can talk there." Suggested Nino.

"Yeah, I guess that's fine." Said Adrien.

"Then lead the way." Said Shadow.


	5. Chapter 5

After a quick stop so that Marinette and Shadow could talk with Marinette's parents, the four friends, plus Shadow, all made their way to the Agreste mansion. As soon as they walked through the doors, a woman with dark hair and red colored bangs wearing professional attire and glasses was there to greet them.

"Welcome home, Adrien." She said to the dark haired woman.

"Hey, Nathalie." Adrien greeted the woman. "We'll be in my room if you need me."

Adrien then led his guests up the stairs.

"And who is this?" Nathalie asked as Shadow passed by her.

"My name is Shadow."

"'Shadow'?" Nathalie lowered her glasses in suspicion.

"He's Japanese!" Marinette quickly stated giving a nervous smile.

Even though she still didn't seem convinced, Nathalie dropped the matter and left them so that she could take care of any other work that needed her attention. With that, Adrien quickly led the group up to his bedroom. Shadow was surprised that his room was so… spacious, but he was also quietly questioning its design as they all made their way to Adrien's couch.

"So, you wanted to talk. Talk." Adrien said as he sat down on his couch.

The rest of them did the same, sans Shadow.

"Right… So…" Shadow tried to think of where to start. "Perhaps it would be best if I start…"

Shadow reached into his pocket and pulled out the yellow chaos emerald.

"… with **this**."

Everyone looked on in awe at the glowing gemstone, utterly speechless until a certain someone decided to emerge from Adrien's side.

"Ooh, it's shiny!" Said the tiny, black, feline-like creature, zipping around until he was right in front of the emerald. "Can you eat it?"

"Plagg!" Exclaimed Adrien.

"Relax, Adrien. Tikki said he knows about us."

"You still shouldn't just pop out like that!" Said Tikki after zipping out from between Marinette and Adrien. "Sorry, Shadow. This is Plagg. He's a kwami like me and… well…"

"I understand." Shadow's calm tone soon turned threatening as he eyed the black kwami. "And don't you even think about it!"

That was enough to scare Plagg into hiding behind Adrien's head.

"That wasn't a threat, it was warning. This **isn't** food, 'Plagg'! This is a chaos emerald."

"Excuse me," Adrien said while raising his hand, "I don't know where you learned your geology from, but that isn't an emerald. Emeralds are green."

"It's only a name! We call them that because they're beryl-like gemstones of unimaginable power."

"Oh! So their like the miraculous!" Assumed Plagg.

"Doubtful. From what I've seen, a miraculous is only capable of so much."

To demonstrate the emerald's power, Shadow had the emerald float out of his hand and it glowed even brighter than before.

"The chaos emeralds are capable of so much more."

The emerald stayed in the air for a few more seconds. As the audience watched in awe, they all suddenly felt something as the light hit them, and it continued for as long as the emerald's yellow light was on them. It felt like power. After one more second, the light began to fade, the feeling of power left, and the emerald gently floated down, back into Shadow's hand.

"So wait, there are things even more powerful than the miraculous?" Alya asked Tikki.

"I guess so," said Tikki, "but I've never heard of a 'chaos emerald'."

"Same here." Said Plagg. "My mind's drawing a complete blank."

"Not surprising." Said Shadow.

"Hey!"

"That's not what I meant, Plagg. I mean it's not surprising that you've never **heard** of it considering they're not even **from** your dimension."

"What?!" They all exclaimed.

"Marinette, not too long ago, you and I introduced ourselves, and I did so again earlier today. What I said in class was a lie, mostly. I am not from Japan. I'm not even from your world at all."

"So, wait." Alya interrupted. "Are you saying you're an—?!"

"An alien?!" Assumed Marinette.

"No. At least, not in the sense that you're assuming." Said Shadow. "I'm not from another planet. I'm actually from another reality, another **universe**."

"What?!" Everyone stood up at this.

"If you'll let me finish…?" Everyone sat back down, trying their best to prepare for what was to come. "Thank you. As I was saying, I come from another universe, and my name, my **real** name is… Shadow the Hedgehog. In my world, I am what is known as a Mobian, an anthropomorphic-animal-like person. _Your_ planet is called Earth. _Ours_ is called **Mobius**. Mobius is mostly populated either by Mobians or Humans."

"Hold on!" Marinette interjected. "If you're really a… 'Mobian'…"

"A Mobian **hedgehog** to be exact." Shadow stated.

"Um… right… so, if you're really a hedgehog, then… why do you look so…" Marinette used her hands to gesture to all of him.

"Human? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm willing to guess that the emeralds and the Hyper-Go-Ons had something to do with it."

"The Hyper-what-now?!" Asked Adrien.

"Um, never mind. That's not relevant right now. Anyway, in our world, like yours, there is good and there is evil. Our world is constantly threatened by a maniacal madman named Dr. Eggman."

"Bah-hah-ha-ha-ha…" It was at this point that Adrien, Plagg, and Nino all broke into a fit of laughter.

"'Dr. _**Egg**_ -man'?!" Nino asked between laughing fits. "That's the second stupidest thing I've ever heard. What, was Dr. **Pickle** already taken?!"

Shadow wasn't about to satisfy Nino's comment with an answer.

"Laugh at his ridiculous name all you want. He is a **real** threat in my world. He once blew up part of our planet's moon."

This finally made the three boys cease their laughing.

"He came close to conquering the entire planet far too many times, with far too many close calls. He is a maniacal genius with an I.Q. of over 300 and he uses it well, despite the fact that he's insane. He seeks to achieve his goal of world domination with his armies of robots and cyborgs. His idea of a perfect world is one paved in metal, completely under _his_ control."

"Wow, I can understand a single person with the power to threaten a large population like _Paris_ ," said Tikki, "but to be a threat to the whole _**world**_ with nothing but his _**mind**_?"

"And with _these_ when he has them. These chaos emeralds have been the key that almost led to the destruction of my world, but at the same time, have been the key to saving it."

"Who made them?"

"No one knows their origins, but one thing is certain, their power is virtually limitless. These gems are able to take one's thoughts and turn them into power. There are only seven chaos emeralds in total, not counting the Master Emerald, but all of them are very powerful. Just one emerald is capable of bending time and space to one's will, but with all **seven** of them, a single person, if they have the capability, can become god-like. Dr. Eggman, with the aid of his machines, has used this power a number of times."

"If that's true, why are you still alive?" Asked Plagg. "Wouldn't using that power mess up your whole world or somethin'?"

"It would... and it **has** , but this power has not only **broken** the world a number of times, but has also put it back together again… with a little help."

"Oh, this is all making my head spin. That makes no sense!"

"The power of the chaos force **can** be unpredictable, that's one of the reasons why we call this power **chaos** energy. Another reason is because it has both negative and positive capabilities depending on **who** wields that power and for **what** intent. We call these capabilities **dark** chaos and **light** chaos."

"'Dark chaos'?" Wondered Alya. "Isn't that your superhero name?"

Shadow paused for a second before speaking.

"No. I'm not a superhero, and that is **not** my name. Marinette as Ladybug just decided to call me that for some reason."

"I was trying to protect your identity!" Marinette interjected.

" **Anyway** , back to my explanation. My entire reason for being here is because of these emeralds. Dr. Eggman was going to use them to power a devastating weapon, but with the aid of three associates of mine, we were able to stop him at the last minute. Unfortunately, in order to do so, I needed to absorb the power from all seven chaos emeralds before they could power the weapon. The end result was the last thing anyone could expect. I was using too much power, and in order to save myself as well as the world, I needed to expel that power. So I used chaos control which, evidently, sent me to your world."

"'Chaos control'. We've heard you say that a lot." Said Marinette.

"What does that mean?" Asked Tikki.

"Chaos control is like a password that calls upon the basic power of the chaos force. In order to use the power of a chaos emerald, you have to say 'chaos' and then a command. Actions like teleportation and enhanced strength and power are just the basics of chaos. Anything else either takes a specific command, or a lot of power… or even both in some cases, but as I said, it's power can be unpredictable if you're not careful and focused."

"Well, what about Baker?" Asked Adrien. " _He_ seemed to know what he was doing."

" _That_ was just basic chaos. A simple power enhancement, nothing more. As for the barrier, it may have _seemed_ like he knew what he was doing, but things are not always what they seem. That chaos barrier was nothing more than a fluke, which was why it was so weak. Had it been intentional, it would either have taken a lot longer for my chaos spears to break through, or been indestructible. However, indestructible chaos barriers only last for a short time, as do **most** full power chaos moves."

"So you said that chaos stuff is super powerful, right?" Asked Nino. "Well, then how come _you_ can handle it so easily?"

"Because I am one of the very few on Mobius who can wield the full power of the chaos force, but unlike those others, _I_ am able to **generate** chaos energy directly from my body. Because of this, I am able to unlock the possibilities of chaos faster than most. I **have** been ever since I was made. **That's** why I'm the master of chaos control."

"Whoa, hold on. Back up there, alien boy." Alya interrupted. "Did you say 'made'?"

"He probably meant to say 'born', Alya." Said Tikki.

"No, I didn't." Tikki stopped talking when she heard this. "I know what I said and I meant it. I'm not a normal mobian."

Adrien leaned back and covered his mouth with his arm as he whispered something to his friends.

"Anyone else finding the phrase 'normal **mobian** ' to be… not so normal?"

"Yep." Said Nino.

"Same." Said Alya.

"A little." Said Plagg.

"I wasn't born, I was made. I'm actually a bioorganic lifeform created by a genius scientist 50 years in my world's past. My body was _**designed**_ to self-generate chaos energy. I was **made** to master the chaos force. I was made to be the Ultimate Lifeform."

"Wow!" Said Marinette. "That's… really amazing!"

"So you're really over **50** years old?" Asked Alya.

"You look good for your age." Joked Adrien.

"My body is ageless, though I've spent those fifty years in stasis until I was finally awoken."

"If I'm being honest here, your life sounds both really cool and a little… well…"

"Weird?" Said Plagg, attempting to finish Alya's comment for her.

"I was gonna say 'odd', but that works, too."

"So you were **designed** to use that power the way you do?" Asked Tikki.

"Yes. My creator also implemented massive amounts of knowledge and combat skill into me."

"Then you're basically a living weapon?" Adrien guessed.

"Adrien!" Marinette said, flabbergasted.

"Sorry-sorry."

"It's fine." Said Shadow.

Shadow did not answer right away, but after a minute, he did.

"Yes and no. My creator didn't _intend_ for me to be a weapon, he only wanted me to be able to… defend against… dangers. But there _were_ those who wanted to **use** me like a weapon. My creator originally intended for me to be a cure for an incurable disease… As for _that_ part… well…"

"It didn't work?" Asked Marinette.

"No, it was… _I_ was… _(sigh)_ a success."

"Really?!"

"You don't sound too happy about that, Shadow." Said Tikki.

"Shadow—?"

"It's fine." Said Shadow before Marinette could say anything else. "I'm fine."

Shadow took another moment, put his chaos emerald away, and then spoke.

"Well, that's it. Are there any more questions?"

Everyone looked at each other, but no one seemed to have anything left to say when in actuality, Marinette wanted to press the matter further. She also wanted to ask him about the photo in his pocket and the people in it, but she decided against it. When Shadow looked at her, he noticed that she seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

"Well then, I suppose I've told you everything _you_ wanted to know. Now it's time you told me everything _I_ want to know."

"Um, I don't remember **that** being part of the deal." Said Alya.

" _ **But**_ , it does sound fair, doesn't it?" Said Marinette. "He _did_ tell us **everything** we asked of him."

"I don't know. What do you guys think?" Adrien asked the two kwamis.

"Eh, if Tikki's fine with it, then I am too." Said Plagg.

"I don't mind." Said Tikki.

"Seriously?! You guys don't mind telling this guy everything. Are you guys for real?" Asked Nino.

"I agree with Marinette. 'It's only fair'."

" _Hmmm_ … you sure about this, Marí?" Adrien asked Marinette.

"Trust me, Adrien. I know we can trust him."

"Well, I don't know if I trust _him_ yet, but I **do** trust _you_ , Princess."

"Oh _(giggles)_!"

The two of them then started nuzzling noses and seemed to forget that there were others in the room.

" _(ahem)_ " With a clear of his throat, Shadow was able to remind them of where they were.

"Oh, sorry!" They both said in unison.

"So? What's your answer?"

Again, everyone looked at each other, only _this_ time, it was to make sure there weren't any objections. No one saying anything or shaking their head made it clear that there weren't.

"Go ahead." Marinette confirmed.

"Alright. First off, those miraculouses, your earrings and _his_ ring…" Shadow pointed to Adrien's ring.

"Wait, how do you—?"

" _I'm_ asking the questions." Shadow said before Adrien could finish his question. "Now, where did they come from?"

Adrien and Marinette exchanged unsure glances before turning back, speaking.

"To tell you the truth," said Adrien, "we don't really know _where_ they came from **originally**."

"But if you mean how _we_ got them," said Marinette, "they were given to us by a guardian."

"Who is this 'guardian'?" Asked Shadow.

"That would be me." Said an old man's voice that got everyone's attention.

"Whoa!" Said Plagg. "Master Fu, I didn't know you knew telepathy."

"He doesn't," said Shadow, "there's a man standing in the doorway."

Shadow pointed to where he saw the man and everyone followed his hand to where he was pointing. There, standing in the doorway, was an old man with a mustache wearing a Hawaiian shirt and holding a cane.

"Hello, children."

"Master Fu!" They all exclaimed, making their way toward him.

Tikki, Plagg, Adrien, and Marinette stopped in front of him and bowed respectfully. Plagg took the liberty of opening a single eye to see the master while everyone else's eyes were shut.

"It is a pleasure to see you all again." Said Master Fu.

Though Alya and Nino did not bow like their friends, Master Fu could tell that they meant well.

"Wait, Master, how did you get in here?" Asked Adrien.

"I came in through the front door while your father's assistant wasn't looking."

Master Fu then began making his way across the room.

"Where's Wayzz?" Asked Nino.

"Oh, I've given him a **very** important task that specifically requires _his_ professional skills."

Meanwhile, at Master Fu's business establishment.

 _ **RING RING**_

"Fu's Shrine of Spiritual Enlightenment. We cleanse your spirit of all negativity. Please hold." Wayzz was busy answering phone calls and taking appointments for his master.

 _ **CLICK**_

"Hello, are you still there…? Good. Now as I was saying, we can move your appointment to next Tuesday but it will have to be done sometime in the afternoon. Does that work for you?"

Back at Adrien's mansion.

"But, Master Fu, sir, what are you doing here?" Asked Marinette.

Master Fu stopped in the middle of the room and pointed his cane at Shadow.

"I'm here because of _him_."

Shadow was surprised by this and was unsure what to make of it. He slowly approached the old man, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that seemed like a threat. Master Fu lowered his cane as Shadow approached.

"Ah, so _you_ are the one, are you? You have a very special power within you, my boy."

"Master," said Marinette, "how do you know about Shadow?"

"There was a strange, magical, imbalance in the forces that be, also, I saw him on the news."

"Just who are you exactly, and what do you want with me?" Shadow asked.

"Of course, we mustn't forget about introductions. I am the current Great Guardian of the miraculous, Master Fu. Of course, you don't _need_ an introduction seeing as how I already know who _you_ are, Mr. Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shadow sneered at this, for it implied that he was not only here for longer than expected, but he was also listening in on their **private** conversation.

"And as for your second question, I simply wanted to meet you, young man;" Master Fu then took a step back to examine him, "although, that power you have is anything _but_ young."

Suddenly, Master Fu's intrigued smile had disappeared.

"But you also have **darkness** within you." Shadow's eyes widened at this. "An internal struggle that has existed for a very long time. An internal war between the dark and the light. Between a hero and a villain. Between a monster and a man. You have fought this war your whole life, even before you knew it even existed."

Shadow didn't like this complete stranger making these assumptions about him. The fact that these assumptions were totally true only made things **worse**. It was making him greatly unhappy. Shadow leaned in close.

"How do you know these things?" He whispered in a menacing tone.

"I can see it in your eyes. I can also see the darkness within you **growing**. Something is feeding it. Something very **dangerous**."

" _(gasp)_ Hawkmoth's power!" Said Marinette.

"What?!" Exclaimed Adrien, Nino, Plagg, and Alya.

" _Hmmm_ … that would explain it." Said Master Fu.

"Are you talking about that akuma that came after him the other day?" Asked Plagg.

"But I thought you said he **resisted** it?" Said Alya.

"I **did** resist it." Said Shadow, somewhat angrily. "I resisted **him**. I'm fine."

"Are you?" Asked Master Fu.

"Yes, I am." Shadow's voice grew even more menacing as the skin around his eye began to turn red from behind his glasses, but Master Fu still saw it.

"I doubt it."

"You wanna start something, old man?!" Shadow almost shouted.

"Shadow!" Exclaimed Marinette.

"What?!"

It was at this moment that Marinette and Tikki started to see the color of his facial skin.

"Shadow, you need to calm down." Marinette said carefully.

"...! What did you say?!" Though his voice was softer and **sounded** calmer, Marinette could tell that his emotional status hadn't changed a single iota.

" _Yeesh_ , someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." Said Nino.

Shadow's eyes had now begun to turn yellow.

"What?"

" _Shhh_ …shush!" Tikki tried to warn them to stop talking.

"You **never** resisted Hawkmoth's control, did you?" Asked Adrien. "You just wanted to get us all together. You've been under his control this whole time, haven't you?"

"Alright, you guys need to stop!" Marinette warned.

"Excuse me." Said Shadow as he carefully pushed her aside and menacingly walked passed her.

"Shadow, wait!" Pleaded Tikki.

"Ready when you are, Adrien." Claimed Plagg.

"The akuma must still be in that photo of his." Said Adrien.

"You so much as **look** at my photo, and I'll tear you apart and crush your ring." Threatened Shadow.

"We'd like to see you try."

Adrien held out his right fist, revealing his white ring.

"Plagg, Claws—!"

"STOP!" Marinette practically screamed after jumping between Adrien and Shadow, holding her arms out toward the both of them.

"What?!" Her friends, sans Tikki and Master Fu, exclaimed.

"Get out of my way, Marinette." Said Shadow. "This doesn't concern you. This punk needs to be taught a lesson about making false accusations."

"Shadow, I **know** that's not you talking. It's Hawkmoth's dark power."

"That's irrelevant."

"No it's not! Shadow, **please** just calm down."

Shadow looked at her. She smiled as she softly and nicely said her next sentence, her face flashing into Maria's again as she did so.

"I promise everything will be alright. Just trust me."

Shadow felt his heart settle, but for a moment, there was pain in his head.

" _Augh_!" He said while holding onto his head.

Master Fu walked around Shadow so that he could see Shadow's eyes and facial skin change back to their normal color.

"Shadow?" Asked Marinette.

"I'm fine." He said between pants. "For _**real**_ this time… Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Glad you're back to your senses before you did something you'd regret." Said Tikki.

The other's just stood there, baffled by what they just saw.

"Okay, what was **that** all about?" Asked Alya.

"Um… well…" Marinette was unsure how to answer that question.

"When I resisted Hawkmoth's influence, I used chaos control to force out the akuma." Said Shadow. "But in doing so, I had unintentionally absorbed the dark energy _from_ the akuma. Its power seems to… overtake me whenever I'm overcome with anger."

"So, basically," said Nino, "you get mad, you turn bad?"

"To put simply, yes… I suppose I should apologize for my… aggression. _(ahem)_ I'm sorry."

"No harm done." Said Master Fu. "Though I doubt I made it any better by egging you on as I did. I too must apologize. Please accept my sincerest apologies."

Master Fu bowed as he said this.

"Perhaps I can make it up to you by telling you all that I know about the miraculous, as well as answer any questions you may have about _them_ or the kwamis."

Shadow was surprised to hear this but did not question it.

"Come, though my knowledge is limited, I know quite a bit."

Shadow and the others followed Master Fu. _This_ time, Shadow sat with the others while Master Fu stood before them. Though Shadow hadn't even realized that he had sat down next to Marinette, Adrien **did**. He decided to sit at her other side and put his arm around her, pulling her close. After the awkward and threatening moment that they all just had, Marinette felt unsure for a nanosecond before relaxing into her boyfriend's shoulder. Shadow eyed the two of them, finding his position during their interaction to be uncomfortable. So, he tried to simply ignore it and focus on the guardian.

"Many centuries ago," Master Fu, began, "magic jewels bestowing extraordinary powers were created. These were the miraculous. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race. Two of these miraculous are more powerful than the others. You've had the privilege of witnessing their power firsthand."

Master Fu gestured his hand toward the two sitting beside Shadow.

"You mean…?!" Asked Shadow.

"Yes, the earrings of the ladybug, which provide the power of creation, and the ring of the black cat, which grants the power of destruction. For many years, I have been the guardian of the miraculouses, protecting them and their Kwamis, keeping them out of the hands of those who would abuse them." Suddenly, Master Fu's face fell. "That is, until the moth brooch and its Kwami, Nooroo, were lost and then later on found by a man with evil intentions. For almost a year, their power has been used for evil purposes."

"Hawkmoth!" Shadow quietly but audibly exclaimed.

"Exactly. The moth brooch has the power to grant anyone their own superpowers and make that person the miraculous holder's devoted follower. That's how Hawkmoth's been creating new supervillains. He finds those with the slightest thirst for vengeance in their hearts and uses that vengeful desire to twist their minds to do his bidding."

" _Hmmm_ … I think I understand." Shadow thinks back and remembers when Marinette touched his treasured photograph. "When I saw Marinette with my photograph, I was so angry, and when I took it back, I just wished everyone knew what it was like to feel the way _I_ felt. The next thing I knew, the akuma found me, dissolved into my photo, and I could hear **his** voice."

"Resisting Hawkmoth's influence isn't an easy thing to achieve."

"I was able to force the akuma out with chaos control."

"So you say, but I can't help but feel that there is more to the story."

"Well, now that you mention it," said Adrien, "I _do_ remember you mentioning something about letting others in your mind _**before**_."

"That…" said Shadow, "is another story. One I'd rather not talk about."

Shadow returned his attention to Master Fu.

"Bit could there be **more** of these miraculouses?"

"The others aren't something you should burden yourself with at the moment. Just trust me when I say that they are safe."

" _Hmph_ … fine. Next question: How did you find **these** two?" Shadow gestured to Adrien and Marinette.

"When my Kwami, Wayzz, had sensed the aura of Nooroo's miraculous turn dark, I knew that I needed to find someone who could be deemed worthy enough to wield the only things capable of countering the moth miraculous' power. The only thing that can beat the powers of a miraculous is **another** miraculous, but I saw it best to use the two most powerful out of all of them."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"A holder does not choose their miraculous, a miraculous chooses its holder. The miraculouses **led** me to them, but first, to be sure, I needed to test them to see if they had the selfless hearts of heroes."

"Test them how?"

"When _I_ first met him," said Marinette, "I saved him from being hit by a car, just like when I met you."

"Yes, yes—Wait, what?!" Asked Master Fu.

"And when _I_ first met him," said Adrien, "he was on the ground pretending that he couldn't get up."

"Oh, uh, (ahem) By choosing to help a feeble old man in need, they proved that they had selfless hearts, thus proving themselves worthy of wielding the miraculous."

"I **still** don't know how you managed to sneak these into our homes." Said Adrien, holding up his ring.

"There are some things that are best left unsaid. Remember that children."

Shadow took a second look at Marinette's miraculous before asking another question.

"But how do they work?"

Adrien took notice of how closely Shadow was eyeing her earrings and pulled her away from him. Shadow irksomely took the hint and stopped looking at them.

"Each miraculous is activated using a special password, forcing the Kwami to be absorbed into the miraculous… whether they **want** to or **not**." Master Fu eyed Plagg as he said this.

Plagg looked away from everyone and drifted to the side a little bit.

"For Marinette's miraculous, she says 'Spots on', and for Adrien's, _he_ says 'Claws out'."

"So the miraculous and its Kwami are **both** needed in order to initiate the transformation." Asked Shadow.

"Correct."

"And the yoyo and staff?"

"Along with the costume and enhanced abilities, a weapon and special superpowers are also provided."

"Yes, I remember. Chat Noir's Cataclysm, and Ladybug's Lucky Charm, as well as her Miraculous Ladybug."

"However, when they use these powers, it drastically drains the miraculous' power. A five-minute countdown is then initiated, counting down until the holder changes back."

"So **that's** what that beeping was all about." Shadow said in realization.

Master Fu nodded in confirmation. Shadow took a moment to think over his next question.

"I just have **one** more question for you." Said Shadow.

"By all means." Master Fu agreed to Shadow's request.

"Where did the miraculouses and the Kwamis originally come from?"

"Each Kwami was born at a certain moment in time when something new appears in the universe. Tikki, the Kwami of **creation** , was born at that **creation** of the universe. She is the oldest and one of the most **powerful** of her kind."

"That's... incredible!" Shadow said in amazement.

"Why thank you." Tikki smiled sweetly at him.

"Since the Kwamis were originally abstract beings not existing in the physical plane, no one could see or hear them. That is, until a lone mage constructed talismans that could contain and harness the Kwamis powers, bestowing them on whoever held them, which would also allow the Kwamis to become visible to all."

"Who was this mage?" Shadow asked Master Fu.

"That…" Master Fu looked like he was going to say something but then paused for a moment to think. "Actually, I don't know."

"What about the Kwamis?" Shadow looked at them after saying this.

It was at this time that Tikki flew up between the children and Master Fu.

"I'm sorry to say that _we_ don't know, either." She said.

"You honestly don't know who created these jewels that you inhabit?"

"Sorry, Shady—" said Plagg as he flew beside Tikki.

"That's not my—!"

"—but that's a question that **no** Kwami knows."

"I guess that it was so long ago, that it was lost over time." Said Tikki.

"But, if you can remember all the real names of every single last Ladybug and Chat Noir who came before us," said Marinette, "how come you can't remember the creator of the miraculouses?"

"I… don't know…" Said Tikki.

"Yeah, me neither." Said Plagg.

" _So they really don't know who created them. Just like how_ I _once was._ " Shadow tried to take a minute to ponder over this, but he couldn't figure out what it meant.

"I'm afraid that is as far as my knowledge of the miraculouses' history goes." Said Master Fu.

"It's fine. I think I have all the information I'm probably going to need," Shadow then turned to those sitting beside him, "but I still have to know, if your identities were meant to be kept secret, then how do _they_ know about them."

Shadow pointed to Nino and Alya.

"Perhaps it would be best if _they_ were to answer that one." Said Master Fu.

"Uh, sure. No prob." Said Nino. "Well, it was like this: So there was this really evil dude who called himself _(chuckle)_ Big Mustachio… _(chuckle)_."

"'Big Mustachio'?!" Shadow asked, surprised to hear a name that sounded far more stupid than Dr. Eggman.

"Chloé's butler." Said Marinette. "He got sick of being ridiculed and got akumatized. He became this supervillain that Chloé made up for whenever she and Sabrina would dress up in cosplay costumes and pretend to be us."

"They're really big fans." Said Adrien.

Shadow found this to be extremely ironic based on how he had witnessed the way that the two of them acted toward Marinette so far.

"Big Mustachio's power was giving people crazy huge mustaches that came to life." Explained Adrien.

"Wow…" Said Shadow. "That's **the** stupidest thing I've ever heard of, and _I_ once had to fight robots who's only means of attack were balancing on a ball and juggling pins. Granted, those pins were actually **bombs**."

"Well, believe it or not, but Big Mustachio actually got pretty close to taking us out and taking our miraculouses." Said Adrien.

"How?!"

"Well…" Said Alya.

FLASHBACK…

Almost every Parisian was sporting a heinously large and evil mustache that held them prisoner. Big Mustachio had just locked Nino and Adrien outside on a weakened, collapsing ledge and trapped Alya and Marinette inside of a freezer. He planned to use them as bait to lure Ladybug and Chat Noir so that he could take their miraculouses. Little did he and everyone _else_ know that he actually had them locked up, close to meeting their ends. Outside, Nino and Adrien were recollecting their better moments in life.

"Who would've thought it would end like this, huh?!" Asked Nino.

"Don't worry, Nino! We'll… We'll get out of this!" Said Adrien as he looked around for so much as a nearby window, even a locked one he could probably smash into.

 _ **CR-CRACK**_

"WHOA!" They both exclaimed, Nino losing his hat in the process, as another part of the ledge broke off and fell.

"No offense, bro, but it's kind of getting harder and harder to believe you!"

"We **will** get out of this…" Adrien looked at his ring and at Plagg who was looking at him with worry from under his signature white button-up shirt. "… somehow."

Meanwhile, Alya and Marinette were huddled together in the freezer, trying desperately to share Marinette's signature black button-up top. They were trying everything that they could think of to keep warm.

"Y-y-y-y-you know, M-M-M-M-Marinette. If-f-f-f-f I had to be… l-l-l-l-locked in a f-f-f-f-freezer with… a-a-anyone… I'm g-g-glad it's with _you_." Alya tried to say.

"S-s-s-s-same here." Marinette looked at the purse that she was clutching to her being, hoping that Tikki was faring well in the cold. "I j-j-j-j-just hope that somebody… will… get us… out of th-th-th-th-this."

Time was running out for the four of them.

 _ **CRACKLE-CRACK**_

Outside, the ledge was almost completely gone and the cracks were getting closer and wider, while _inside_ , in the freezer, Alya was just moments away from passing out.

"Well, dude, I guess this is it!" Said Nino, awaiting the end.

"M-M-M-M-Marí." Alya spoke, about to fall into a dreamless sleep.

With everything coming down to the wire, Adrien and Marinette had runout of options. They both looked at their kwamis. Plagg gave him a determined look and nodded. Tikki poked her head out and nodded as well.

"No it's not, Nino!" Adrien exclaimed.

With determination in her eyes, Marinette arose from her spot, leaving Alya with her top.

"M-M-Marine-e-ette?" Alya questioned.

Suddenly, Tikki flew out of Marinette's bag, floating before Alya, smiling at her while shivering.

"What is—?!" Alya exclaimed, almost shouting.

"Tikki, Spots On! Ha!"

Marinette held up the hair covering her left ear, revealing her black earrings turning red, and almost immediately, Tikki was absorbed into them, causing black spots to appear. Marinette ran her hands across her eyes causing sparkles followed by a red mask with five black spots to appear upon her face. Sparkles then began to cover her body, replacing her usual daily wear with her superhero suit, her magic yoyo appearing around her waist. She had transformed into the miraculous Ladybug.

"Plagg, Claws Out!"

Adrien held out his right fist, revealing his white ring turning black, and almost immediately, Plagg was absorbed into it, causing a green cat's paw print to appear. Adrien ran two fingers across his eyes causing black a black mask to appear. When he opened his eyes, it revealed that they had turned green and the pupils were thin like a cat's. He then ran both his hands through his hair, causing it to appear messy as well as causing black cat ears to sprout from his head. Green lightning then began to cover his body, replacing his usual daily wear with his superhero suit, his retractable bow-staff appearing behind him, on his belt. He had transformed into the cunning Chat Noir.

"Wha—?! WHOA!" Before Nino could say anything else, he fell.

Chat Noir responded to this by leaping after him.

Ladybug looked around the freezer. She knew that if she emerged from the freezer and Big Mustachio was out there, then it would reveal her secret identity.

As soon as he was level with Nino, he grabbed him by the waist and used his other hand to grab ahold of the first window that passed by.

Ladybug saw a ventilation shaft above their heads and proceeded to use her yoyo to latch onto the grate and pry it open. Once this was accomplished, she picked up Alya, who was too focused on trying to keep herself conscious to focus on what was happening at the moment, and carried her with her through the vent.

Looking down and seeing that they were **still** dangerously high up, Nino responded to this by clinging to Chat Noir.

"… This is getting weird, right?" Asked Nino.

"Yeah." Chat answered plainly.

Chat Noir then looked down to the window below the one that he was hanging from and noticed that it was open. With ease, he was able to swing himself _and_ Nino inside via the open window. Nino let go of Chat Noir as soon as his feet touched the solid floor and stood aghast at what he now knew.

"Adrien… _you're_ …"

"Chat Noir…? Heh, yeah…" After a while of Nino standing in silent awe. "What's the matter, Nino? Cat got your tongue?"

Nino, after finally getting out the life threatening situation that he was just in, wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"…Dude, no offense, but that's **not** funny."

"Heh, sorry. Couldn't help myself. Now get yourself to safety, Nino. This cat's gotta pest to chase."

With that, Chat Noir hurried to the nearest staircase.

Meanwhile, Ladybug was busy following the freezing cold shaft. A few minutes later, she saw Alya too close to passing out, and she stopped caring about the supervillain. She then started beating on the walls of the vent as hard as she could. Chat Noir was rushing passed them and heard the beating noise. He looked up and discovered where it was coming from. He pulled out his bow-staff and poked it into the ceiling, creating a hole, and he suddenly heard a similar bang. It sounded and felt like he had hit something made of metal. He then started hitting the ceiling repeatedly until he had a clear view of the vent.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir raised his right hand up as dark energy built up in his palm. He closed his hand, allowing the destructive, magical energy to be absorbed into it. Using his superpower, Chat Noir touched the vent, causing it to rust away, allowing Ladybug and Alya to fall into his arms. As soon as he felt their bodies, he noticed that they were ice cold.

"Now, ladies. I know I'm one **cool** cat, but you don't have to fall for me." Chat Noir joked before he carefully placed them onto the floor.

"N-n-no time for jokes, Chat Noir." Said Ladybug, trying to warm up. "I n-n-need you to find Big Mustachio and… keep him distracted until I get there. I need to… take care of _her_ first and… make sure she warms up."

"Got it, but don't keep me waiting. I _am_ on the clock, after all." Chat Noir showed them his ring as he said this, revealing that it had already lost a pad.

With that, Chat Noir continued on his way to find Big Mustachio. Ladybug arose beside Alya, who was still on the floor. After a minute, Alya finally opened her eyes.

"M-M-Marinette?" She said as soon as she laid eyes on Ladybug.

Ladybug smiled and nodded in response before helping Alya sit up while holding her to help her warm up.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I-I-I-I'll live… th-th-thanks to _you_."

Ladybug smiled at her best friend, and Alya smiled back.

 _END OF FLASHBACK…_

"And then what happened?" Shadow asked.

"Same as all the Ladybug and Chat Noir stories," said Alya, "they beat the bad guy and save the day, like always."

"Things were a little weird between us after that, but we got used to it pretty quick." Said Nino.

"That pretty much sums up the whole story." Said Marinette.

With that said, Shadow stood up and moved so that he was facing them all. "Thank you. All of you. Even you, Great Guardian, Master Fu."

Shadow bowed respectfully as he said this.

"Please, no need to be so formal." Said Master Fu. "Just 'Master Fu' will do. And with this information shared between us, I hope that this means that we have earned your trust, Mister 'Ultimate Lifeform'."

"Not my complete trust, but my trust nonetheless."

They all smiled at this.

"With that being said, I would now like to ask you for your help…" Shadow directed his attention to those sitting on the couch, making them all (Kwamis included) go wide-eyed. "… in finding the fifth chaos emerald."

Will they find the fifth emerald, or will disaster strike _before_ that happens?

 **To Be Continued**


End file.
